Anna de Graaff

I am a Clay Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and adjunct scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. My interests are in the field of galaxy evolution, in particular the structural evolution of galaxies across cosmic time, their mass assembly histories, and the growth of their central black holes.

Spectroscopic surveys are key to my research. As member of the JWST/NIRSpec GTO team and PI of JWST Cycle 2 Program RUBIES, I have collected over 10,000 spectra of distant galaxies and black holes together with my collaborators. With this vast dataset we are able to shed light on the formation of galaxies in the early Universe, and discover peculiar new types of objects.

I was recently awarded an ERC Starting Grant at the MPIA in Heidelberg. The FIRST-GIANTS project will focus on answering how puzzlingly massive galaxies could already form in the first billion years of the Universe. Students at Heidelberg University interested in joining the group for thesis projects are welcome to enquire.