I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AIfA) at the University of Bonn. I completed my MSc and PhD at the University of Victoria in 2022, before moving from Canada to Germany. I am also a strong advocate for scientific literacy, both in the classroom and as a part of public outreach.
I study how galaxies are shaped by cataclysmic events in their evolution, with a focus on two specific phenomena through which galaxies transform:
Galaxy - galaxy mergers: Galaxies are cannibals, when they fall into each other's orbit one will accumulate the other over a process that can take billions of years. When two galaxies of similar size collide, the gravitational forces are dramatic enough to warp both constituents, until they coalesce into a new, unrecognizable single galaxy.
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN): Material that is funneled into the center of a galaxy can fuel the super massive black hole in its center, causing a burst of activity we refer to as "AGN" for short. These events can inject huge amounts of energy into the surrounding medium, and current models aim to constrain to what degree these events shape the material in galaxies, and on what timescales.
More details can be found on my research page.
Office: Argelander-Institut für Astronomie
Auf dem Hügel 71
Room 1.016
Phone: +49-(0)228-73-1774
Email: mthorp@uni-bonn.de