The birthplace of new stars. . . I use UV spectroscopy to probe the physical state and evolution of diffuse interstellar gas using both theoretical and observational tools.
My major work in this area was a large survey of H2 in the Magellanic Clouds using FUSE.
I've also helped develop theoretical models of diffuse H2 clouds (with Matt Browning and Mike Shull). The image at right shows recent simulations of the supernova-driven ISM, calculated using the FLASH code developed at Chicago. From left to right, the panels show the temperature, density, pressure, and particle density of O VI, which traces intermediate-temperature transition zones between hot bubbles and cooler diffuse gas.