Dr Caroline Foster

My name is Dr Caroline Foster (most people just call me Caro) and I am an astronomer within the School of Physics. I am originally from Quebec (la belle province), Canada. I did my BSc in physics and mathematics and an MSc in astrophysics at Bishop’s University (Quebec, Canada). I completed my PhD at Swinburne University (Melbourne, Australia) in 2011. I am currently an ARC Future Fellow and Scientia Senior Lecturer at UNSW.

My research interests have broadly focused on the formation and chemical enrichment of various structures in the universe. My research has led to the development of innovative techniques to exploit 3D spectroscopy data from the largest scales, cosmological voids, down to much smaller structures, globular clusters.

I am also a fierce diversity advocate and a keen outreach/public speaker/author.

You will find more about me and my research here. You may also follow me on Mastodon. 

Brief summary of my Future Fellowship project :

The spin of galaxies is slowing down and nobody really knows why. This dynamical transformation is predicted by theoretical simulations, but different simulations disagree on its exact causes and their relative importance. Until recently, the data required to map the gas and stars in galaxies during the transition and identify its root causes in galaxies around 3-4 billion years ago were critically lacking. My Future Fellowship project leverages on the Middle Age Galaxy Properties with Integral field spectroscopy (MAGPI) survey, a large programme on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. This dataset is designed to directly detect and address this important unknown. By comparing MAGPI with local surveys (e.g. SAMI and Hector) and using redshift surveys such as GAMA and DEVILS, I am identifying the key physical drivers for the morphological and dynamical transformation of galaxies across cosmic time.