Alis Deason

Professor Alis Deason is a Professor of Research in the Department of Physics and the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University's Faculty of Science. Her work focuses on galactic structure and evolution, utilizing data from major observational facilities including Gaia, Hubble Space Telescope, and JWST.

• PhD in Astrophysics from University of Cambridge
• Postdoctoral research at University of California, Santa Cruz
• Former Royal Society University Research Fellow (RS URF)

Her research centers on Galactic Archaeology, where she analyzes stellar populations to reconstruct the Milky Way's assembly history. Key interests include stellar halo kinematics, dark matter halo properties, and Local Group galaxy evolution. She leads significant contributions to surveys like HALO7D and WEAVE, developing techniques to map galactic substructures through phase-space analysis and chemical tagging.

Recent publications reveal trends toward multi-messenger galactic studies, combining spectroscopic, astrometric, and photometric data to constrain merger histories. Her work on the Milky Way-Andromeda collision uncertainty (2025) and JWST-detected accretion shelves demonstrates innovative approaches to near-field cosmology.

• Principal investigator for Durham's role in DESI Milky Way Survey
• Co-investigator for Hubble Space Telescope Survey of M31 Satellites
• Key contributor to E-MOSAICS simulation project

Professor Deason actively mentors graduate students and collaborates internationally, with significant partnerships at institutions including Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and University of Washington. Her research group develops computational frameworks to interpret stellar streams and halo substructures, advancing our understanding of galaxy formation in the ΛCDM paradigm.