Sownak Bose

About Me

I am an astronomer at the Institute for Computational Cosmology, part of the Department of Physics at Durham University. Before this, I was an ITC Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (2017-2021). I received my PhD at Durham (2013-2017), and my undergraduate degree in Physics at St.Catherine's College, University of Oxford (2009-2013).

My research makes use of some of the largest supercomputers in the world to study the formation of galaxies in our Universe. I am interested in trying to figure new ways to test models of dark matter and gravity, and making predictions that could potentially be measured in the real distribution of galaxies in the cosmos. You can read more about my research interests here.

Besides research, I am passionate about education and outreach, and enjoy thinking about new ways of communicating science. Perhaps most importantly, my primary passion is football, and my outlook on life is usually dictated Manchester United's performances at that point in the season.

Curriculum Vitae

Current Position

Associate Professor & UKRI Future Leaders Fellow

Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University

August 2023 – Present

Previous Employment

Assistant Professor

Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University

October 2021 – August 2023

Deputy Executive Dean for People & Culture

Faculty of Science, Durham University

January 2023 – March 2024

ITC Postdoctoral Fellow

Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

September 2017 – August 2021

Education

PhD in Astrophysics

Durham University

2013 – 2017

Master of Physics (MPhys)

St. Catherine's College, University of Oxford

2009 – 2013

Selected Awards & Honours

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship

2021 – 2028

Awarded an independent research fellowship for the programme entitled "Fundamental Cosmology in the Era of Surveys: a Multi-scale Numerical Campaign"

IOP Publishing Top Cited Paper Award

2023

Recognising the most cited papers from North America published across the entire IOP Publishing journal portfolio within the past three years (2020 to 2022), and also featuring in the top 1% of most cited articles in the Astronomy and Astrophysics subject category; awarded for co-authored publication "Rapid Reionization by the Oligarchs"

Buchalter Cosmology Prize

2021

Rewarding 'new ideas or discoveries that have the potential to produce a breakthrough advance in our understanding of the origin, structure, and evolution of the universe'; awarded for co-authored publication "First star-forming structures in fuzzy cosmic filaments"

Royal Astronomical Society Michael Penston Prize

2018

Awarded for the 'best doctoral thesis in astronomy and astrophysics in the UK'

Springer Thesis Prize

2018

Award recognising 'outstanding PhD research' internationally

Winton Doctoral Prize

2018

Awarded for the 'best PhD in Physics using computational methods'

Download Full CV (PDF)

View my complete publication list on NASA ADS

Research

Visualization of dark matter halo structure from cosmological simulation

The nature of dark matter

What is the identity of the dark matter that dominates the gravity of our Universe? How do the properties of the particle affect the formation of galaxies in our cosmos? By confronting theoretical data with ever more precise observational data, we can hope to one day pin down the nature of this most enigmatic component of our Universe.

Click here for my publications on this topic

Near-field cosmology

The Milky Way and its faint, neigbouring satellite galaxies offer some of the best laboratories for constraining the properties of dark matter, and provide us an opportunity to understand how the first generation of galaxies formed.

Click here for my publications on this topic

The galaxy-halo connection

While our goal as comsologists is to infer the underlying structure of the Universe, all we observe is the observable galaxy population. What determines the mapping between the luminous and the dark matter? How does the growth history of dark matter haloes influence the galactic populations that eventually reside within them?

Click here for my publications on this topic

Cosmic reionization simulation visualization

Cosmic reionisation

As the Universe emerges out of the cosmic dark ages, the first stars and galaxies begin to illuminate the cosmos through gradually expanding islands of radiation. This epoch of "cosmic dawn" encodes key details of identity of the dark matter, and plays a vital role in the distribution of the galaxies we observe today.

Click here for my publications on this topic

Large-scale structure

The Cosmic Web of structure spans several billions of light years and is dotted with galaxies; galaxies that we one day hope to map through large-scale redshift surveys. In the upcoming decade a plethora of new surveys will provide some of the tightest constraints on the cosmological parameters underpinning our Universe.

Click here for my publications on this topic

Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect map visualization

The nature of gravity

It is now well-established that expansion of our Universe is accelerating--but our theories for what drives this expansion are still woefully incomplete. Is it the vacuum energy in the form of a cosmological constant? Or does a complete picture of accelerated expansion demand a modification to the equations of General Relativity altogether?

Click here for my publications on this topic

Group Members

Dr. Shengdong Lu

Postdoc

Research interests: Cosmology, galaxy formation, high-redshift galaxies

Dr. Daniele Sorini

Postdoc

Research interests: Cosmology, galaxy formation, large-scale structure, circumgalactic medium

Mac McMullan

Final Year PhD Student

Research interests: Dwarf galaxies, dark matter, semi-analytic galaxy formation, black holes

Yuchan Wang

Final Year PhD Student

Research interests: Dark matter, small-scale structure, cosmological zoom simulations, cosmic web

Joaquin Sureda

Final Year PhD Student

Research interests: Dwarf galaxies, cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, dark matter

Sarah Johnston

Final Year PhD Student

Research interests: Cosmological simulations with GPUs, high-performance computing, dark matter

Michael Collier

Final Year PhD Student

Research interests: Modified gravity, tests of gravity, hydrodynamical simulations, galaxy-halo connection

External & Former Group Members

Dr. Haonan Zheng

Visiting PhD Student; now KIAA Fellow at Peking University

Research interests: Dark matter, cosmological zoom simulations, numerical methods

Bipradeep Saha

Undegraduate at the IISER (Kolkata, India); now PhD student at MPIA, Heidelberg

Research interests: Galaxy formation, effects of baryons on large-scale structure

Yash Gondhalekar

Undegraduate at BITS Pilani (Goa, India); now PhD student at UCL

Research interests: Machine learning, artificial intelligence, cosmological simulations, modified gravity

Dr. Alejandra Aguirre-Santaella

Former ICC postdoc; now a postdoc at Universitat de València.

Research interests: Dark matter, cosmological simulations, galaxy formation

Outreach & Education

I am a strong believer in communicating the marvels of science with the general public, and making cutting-edge research accessible to anyone. Throughout my career, I have been heavily involved in public engagement activities that seek to spark curiosity and inspire the next generation of scientists; the astronomy group at Durham, in particular, has a storied reputation for this. Below are some of the projects I am particularly proud to be a part of.

Stargoal Project - Football Meets Physics

The Stargoal Project

Where Football Meets Physics

I co-organise - with Alis Deason (lead) and Ryan Cooke - this interactive educational programme that brings Physics to life through the Beautiful Game. This was a partnership between Durham University, local schools, Durham Women's Football Club, and Education Durham. The project, which is aimed at primary school children, explores topics like the role of gravity in chip shots and the importance of proabibility in outwitting your opponent at penalties!

Explore Stargoal

The Open Universe Podcast

An unbounded journey through the archives of astronomy

With my friend and former colleague, Ana Bonaca, I co-host a podcast that covers historical figures, seminal papers, and contemporary topics in astronomy, making the wonders of the Universe accessible to everyone.

Listen Now

Galaxy Makers

Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2016

Galaxy Makers was selected as one of the exhibits at the 2016 Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, where we built interactive tools (including VR fly-throughs of the EAGLE simulations) to show how cosmological simulations can be used to understand the formation and evolution of galaxies in the Universe.

Explore Galaxy Makers

Hi! I'm Sownak.

Welcome to my website.

I am an Associate Professor & UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University

About Me

Curriculum Vitae

Current Position

Associate Professor & UKRI Future Leaders Fellow

Previous Employment

Assistant Professor

Deputy Executive Dean for People & Culture

ITC Postdoctoral Fellow

Education

PhD in Astrophysics

Master of Physics (MPhys)

Selected Awards & Honours

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship

IOP Publishing Top Cited Paper Award

Buchalter Cosmology Prize

Royal Astronomical Society Michael Penston Prize

Springer Thesis Prize

Winton Doctoral Prize

Research

The nature of dark matter

Near-field cosmology

The galaxy-halo connection

Cosmic reionisation

Large-scale structure

The nature of gravity

Group Members

External & Former Group Members

Outreach & Education

The Stargoal Project

The Open Universe Podcast

Galaxy Makers

Contact Me

Get In Touch

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I am an Associate Professor & UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at
the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University