Decker French

Johns Hopkins University is offering a postdoctoral fellowship in the Physics and Astronomy department focused on the regulation of star formation and gas evolution in nearby galaxies. The project is built around the KILOGAS survey , a large observational program of roughly 500 nearby galaxies that combines ALMA measurements with ionized-gas and stellar information from the MaNGA and SAMI integral field spectroscopic surveys. The successful applicant will investigate how galaxies evolve through the relationships between molecular gas, star formation, and black hole activity. The postdoctoral researcher will derive star-formation histories and use them to study how recent star formation connects to the availability of gas. The work also includes examining the drivers of variation in star-formation efficiency and testing fundamental star formation laws across galaxies. The position is based within a collaborative research environment linking JHU and the Space Telescope Science Institute, with opportunities for interaction with journal clubs, colloquia, and other research groups. The fellowship is advertised in collaboration with Dr. Kate Rowlands at STScI and Prof. Decker French at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The project offers a setting for research in observational galaxy evolution and, if desired, the option to mentor undergraduate and graduate students.