Galaxies during Cosmic Dawn: how the James Webb Space Telescope is illuminating the first billion years

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revolutionizing our understanding of the early universe. 

With its unprecedented infrared sensitivity, JWST is revealing galaxies that formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. 

In this talk, Dr. Sandro Tacchella will guide us through the latest discoveries from JWST, including the most distant galaxies ever observed, insights into their stellar populations, and what these findings reveal about the physics of galaxy formation. 

From the build-up of the first stars to the role of dark matter and black holes, this journey to cosmic dawn connects cutting-edge research to the fundamental questions of our cosmic origins.

Meet the speaker

Dr. Sandro Tacchella is an Assistant Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St Edmund’s College. His research focuses on how galaxies form and evolve across cosmic time, especially during the first billion years of the universe. 

He plays a key role in the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), which is uncovering some of the most distant and earliest galaxies ever observed. Prior to his appointment in Cambridge, he was Assistant Professor at UNIST in Korea and held a research fellowship at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. 

He received his PhD from ETH Zurich in Switzerland. Dr. Tacchella's work combines deep observations with theoretical modelling to understand the physical processes that shape galaxy growth in the early universe.

Main image courtesy of David Higginbotham / NASA