Daisuke Iono

I am currently a staff member of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. I am involved in a number of aspects related to the management and science of the TMT project in Japan. Prior to this appointment, I was involved in the Atacama Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) as the Project Scientist, and the lead of the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) study group at the NAOJ. My primary research theme is to understand how galaxies form and evolve in the Universe.

Research

Galaxy Formation and Evolution

Massive galaxies dominate the central gravitational potential of giant galaxy clusters found in the present-day universe. Our goal is to understand how massive galaxies have formed early on and evolved over 10 billion years down to the universe we see today. We have reasonable evidence suggesting that galaxies bright in submillimeter wavelengths are the ancestors of these massive galaxies, and our current research theme is to use ALMA and other telescopes in the world to determine exactly how these galaxies are forming stars and growing their mass over time. (image credit: NAOJ)

Interacting and Merging Galaxies

Galaxies grow their sizes and mass by merging with other similar galaxies multiple times during their lifetime. Collisions cause the interstellar gas to condense locally and lead to dense clumps of gas, creating a number of new star clusters there. In some cases, the radial inflow of gas can fuel the central black hole, igniting the central engine as an active galactic nucleus (AGN). We use ALMA and other telescopes to observe colliding and merging galaxies in the local universe, with the goal of properly understanding collision-induced star formation and AGNs. (image credit: NAOJ)

TMT

The Thirty Meter Telescope is a new extremely large telescope that will allow us to see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity and detail. Its 30m diameter prime-mirror will enable observations in optical and infrared wavelengths with up to 80 times the sensitivity of today's largest telescopes. State-of-the-art adaptive optics systems will compensate for the blurring effects of Earth's atmosphere, and deliver images that are more than four times sharper than JWST.

ALMA

Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array is a state-of-the-art facility that investigates the cold and dark universe at unprecedented angular resolution and sensitivity. I was involved in the ALMA project as the East Asian ALMA Project Scientist. My role was to manage and monitor all scientific activities related to ALMA, particularly in the East Asian partnership. (image credit: NAOJ)

ngVLA

The Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) will realize an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity and angular resolution of the Very Large Array (VLA) and is expected to provide major breakthroughs in many fields of astronomy and astrophysics. I was leading the ngVLA study group at NAOJ, investigating the possibility of formally joining this project from Japan in the future. (image credit: Sophia Dagnello, NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Education

B.S. University of Arizona
Ph.D. University of Massachusetts

Professional Appointment

TMT Project, Associate Professor (present)
ALMA Project, Associate Professor
Nobeyama Radio Observatory, Assistant Professor
University of Tokyo, Post-Doctoral Fellow
ALMA-J Research Specialist
ALMA-J Post-Doctoral Fellow
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Post-Doctoral Fellow

Publication

ADS link

Prospective Students

I am eager to work with students at any level who are interested in studying galaxy formation and evolution using ALMA or any telescope in the world. Drop me a line to schedule an appointment for an online meeting.