Mergers are fundamental to the standard hierarchical paradigm of galaxy formation. They produce intense star formation episodes, driving the build-up of stellar mass and black holes and alter the morphological mix of the universe. While they are routinely included in galaxy formation models, the evolution of star formation and AGN activity has not been fully explored from a purely observational perspective. I am presently using observational evidence (mainly from SDSS and GALEX) to test currently accepted models of galaxy evolution by analysing galaxy closepairs drawn from the SDSS.  

Supervisors: Sugata Kaviraj and Steve Warren

Degree: MA in Pure Maths (first class)