My main research interests are (click for more details):

• (Low-mass) Galaxy formation and evolution

• Emission line galaxies
  
• Extreme stellar populations
• Near-IR spectroscopy
• Multi-wavelength galaxy surveys
  

Surveys that span multiple wavelengths allow us to probe a variety of galactic properties that would be impossible otherwise. For example, advanced methods to identify various popultions of galaxies based on their colors have been developed, from separating starforming and quiescent galaxies to identifying high-redshift sources based on the position of the Lyman break.

One particular suite of surveys that I have been involved in is CANDELS+3D-HST, which complement each other as an imaging+spectroscopic survey of five of the most commonly-studied extragalactic fields. I am also a co-I on the new LEGA-C survey with VLT/VIMOS (PI: van der Wel), which aims to provide a homogenous set of deep, high-resolution spectra to determine the stellar population properties and dynamics of nearly 3000 galaxies.

• Gravitational lensing
• High-z galaxy searches

Using MUSE, I study the restframe-ultraviolet spectra of high-redshift galaxies. Features in this part of the spectrum, such as the C III] and Lyman-alpha emission lines, provide a lot of information about the physical state of these young galaxies. This type of study is extremly powerful when combined with information from the restframe-optical region, which can be obtained with Hubble's WFC3 camera. A key strength to this approach is the un-targeted nature of both instruments, allowing us to get a clear view of the full population of galaxies.