Dr Philip Lucas

B.A., D.Phil

Philip Lucas

Job title: Reader in Astrophysics

Memberships and Appointments:

Member of the Board of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT, 2006-2009)

Member of the UKIRT Time Allocation Group (2007-2009).

Member of the Hubble Space Telescope Time Allocation Committee (2006).

Head of the UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey Working Group.

co-PI of the VVV survey.

I am an astronomer working in the areas of star formation, brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets. Most of my work involves observation with infrared and optical telescopes. I am leading two large public infrared surveys of the Milky Way Galaxy. I also work on the polarization of starlight. I have written 3-D light scattering codes to analyse the polarized light from reflection nebulae. I also work on new instrumentation, such as the PLANETPOL polarimeter that I helped to develop at UH with Jim Hough, Edwin Hirst, Jeremy Bailey and Dave Harrison.

Research Interests

Star formation, brown dwarfs, extrasolar planets

Teaching specialisms

Physics of Stars

Collaborations and Projects

UKIDSS. I am head of the UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey (see www.ukidss.org) which is running from 2005-2012.

I am co-PI of the public VISTA survey "VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea", a synoptic survey which is running from 2010-2014.

These two infrared surveys of the Milky Way Galaxy are both large international collaborations, which will create the largest two databases in astronomy.