Hi. I'm Toby.

I am a astronomer at the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre. I explore how galaxies evolve and build digital infrastructure for astronomy research.

To answer the question How do galaxies evolve?, I examine the relationships between the gas in galaxies - as the fuel for forming new stars - and their stellar, star formation, and chemical properties. My specialism lies in the analysis of large multi-wavelength datasets in order to understand galaxy populations as a whole.

Current Research Projects

VERTICO
I lead the VERTICO Survey (Brown et al. 2021), a completed ALMA Cycle 7 Large Program that has mapped the molecular gas, as the raw fuel for star formation, in 51 Virgo Cluster galaxies with the aim of revealing the effects of environment on galaxies' gas content in unprecedented detail.

MAUVE
I am in the management group of MAUVE, a large program using the MUSE instrument on the Very Large Telescope to track the influence of the environment on the gas-star formation cycle of cluster galaxies during their infall. 

I am the CanSRC Project Scientist, guiding development of a Square Kilometre Array Regional Centre at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre with the goal of providing Canadian and international users with access to the SKA data. The establishment of this centre requires computing, network and storage infrastructure services two orders of magnitude more powerful than those currently existing in Canada.

Astrophysics at HAA in Victoria

Astronomers at Herzberg perform world-class research in a huge range of astrophysics including areas such as KBOs, exoplanets, star formation, stellar populations, galaxy formation and evolution, black holes, and cosmology. Our instrumentation experts develop state-of-the art devices that are critical to the research of world-class observatories in Canada and abroad.

There are currently four PDF programs available for those interesting in a postdoc with us. There are three named fellowships: the Plaskett Fellowship, the Covington Fellowship, and the Instrument Science Fellowship. In addition to this, the NRC (National Research Council of Canada) has an open postdoctoral program that runs annually. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in applying for any of these positions.

Victoria, BC is in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, with incredible access to nature, vibrant culture, and a very friendly community.