Our Research
Our group researches extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology, exploring dark energy, supermassive black holes, and galaxy evolution through observational, theoretical, and computational methods.
Research Topics
We invite enquiries from prospective Honours and postgraduate students who are interested in conducting astrophysics research at QUT. Current projects available are listed below:
- Identifying AGNs through Infrared Signatures and SED Decomposition
- Investigating Photometric Redshift Discrepancies in COSMOS2020 and ZFOURGE Surveys
For more details, please contact Dr Michael Cowley.
Research Experience Scheme
Each year, we offer undergraduate students an opportunity to participate in an astrophysics research project, which provides excellent development opportunities to transition to HDR study. Participating students become immersed in our group’s research activities and receive a hands-on experience with our experts and facilities. To be eligible to apply for the scheme you must have completed at least 96 credit points of undergraduate study at QUT. For more details, please contact Dr Michael Cowley or visit the VRES Information Site (summer vacation) or MY-RES Information Site (mid-year vacation).
Previous projects awarded:
| Scholarship Awardee | Research Project |
| Shradha Dhavali (VRES 2023) | Investigating the impact of X-Ray AGN on the UVJ colour-colour space |
| Pilote Muhoza (VRES 2023) | Investigating the impact of Infrared AGN on the UVJ colour-colour space |
| Tenille Rennie (MY-RES 2023) | Malmquist bias and its impact on galaxy evolution. |
| Grace Hiley (VRES 2022) | Investigating the accuracy of the Lyman Break G-Dropout technique. |
| Madison Stibbe (VRES 2022) | AGN candidate selection via multi-wavelength selection diagnostics. |
| Daniel Lyon (VRES 2021) | An analysis of active galactic nuclei selection diagnostics. |
| Breanna Farley (VRES 2021) | The influence of environment on galaxy evolution at high redshifts. |
| Sarah Bradbury (VRES 2020) | Isolating the nuclear contribution to the observed SED of galaxies. |
| Dominic Cotter (VRES 2020) | The impact of varying the cosmological constant in a Hubble tension context. |