Philip Lucas

Philip Lucas is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Hertfordshire, affiliated with the Centre for Astrophysics Research (CAR) within the School of Physics, Astronomy & Mathematics. He serves as the UH Research Theme Champion for Space, promoting research in atmospheric physics, mathematics, and quantum physics across the university.

His educational background includes a Physics degree from Oxford University and a DPhil in Astrophysics (1997) under Prof Patrick Roche, focusing on star formation and infrared instrumentation. Following three years of postdoctoral work at Oxford, he joined the University of Hertfordshire in 1999.

Lucas's research centers on star formation, brown dwarfs, and extrasolar planets, with emphasis on infrared surveys of the Milky Way. He co-leads the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea Survey (VVV/VVVX) that collected photometry for over 1 billion stars using the VISTA telescope in Chile (2010-2022), building on his earlier UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey (UGPS) for northern skies. His methodology combines large-scale survey data with polarization and adaptive optics for detailed stellar analysis.

Recent publications demonstrate consistent focus on infrared time-domain astronomy, young stellar object variability, and galactic structure, particularly FU Orionis-type outbursts and RR Lyrae stars in globular clusters. These works leverage VVV/VVVX data to investigate stellar evolution mechanisms and galactic dynamics through multi-epoch photometry.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS)

Lucas has secured significant research funding including the Horizon 2020 GESTATE project (2015-2017), the PATT-linked grant (2015-2017), and current leadership of "The Nature and Origins of Eruptive Variability in YSOs" (2024-2027). He has lectured in physics and astrophysics since 2007 while maintaining active research supervision.

As a core member of the Centre for Astrophysics Research, he leads international collaborations through the VVV/VVVX consortium and contributes to the university's Space Research initiative, directing telescope time allocation and data analysis protocols for large-scale galactic surveys.