Dr Joris Witstok
For references or a more detailed version of my CV, please contact me directly. You can see a full list of publications on the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS).
Research interests
Early Galaxy Formation and Evolution; First Galaxies; Reionisation of the Universe; Enrichment of Metals and Dust
Education
2018-2022: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Astrophysics (University of Cambridge)
PhD in Astrophysics at Sidney Sussex College, in the Galaxy Formation and Evolution group. Thesis title: Spectroscopic studies of star-forming galaxies and the intergalactic medium in the early Universe. Supervisors: Dr Renske Smit and Prof Roberto Maiolino.
2017-2018: Master of Advanced Study (University of Cambridge)
Graduated with distinguished performance (Distinction, 85/100) in the Master of Advanced Study (MASt) in Astrophysics at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge. Supervisors: Dr Ewald Puchwein, Dr Girish Kulkarni, and Prof Martin Haehnelt. Elected courses: Formation of Structure in the Universe, Quantum Field Theory, Cosmology, Extrasolar Planets: Atmospheres and Interiors, Dynamics of Astrophysical Discs.
2014-2017: Double Bachelor of Science (University of Leiden)
Graduated cum laude both in Physics and Astronomy (a double bachelor’s degree), combined with Honours College (8.9 out of 10 average).
Awards
2023: Sidney Sussex College
Awarded the Mike Phillips Award for the pursuit of excellence in sport.
Selected publications
- Witstok, J., Shivaei, I., Smit, R., et al., 2023, Nature, 621, 267: Carbonaceous dust grains seen in the first billion years of cosmic time
- Witstok, J., Jones, G. C., Maiolino, R., Smit, R., & Schneider, R., 2023, MNRAS, 523, 3119: An empirical study of dust properties at the earliest epochs
- Witstok, J., Smit, R., Saxena, A., et al., 2023, arXiv:2306.04627: Inside the bubble: exploring the environments of reionisation-era Lyman-α emitting galaxies with JADES and FRESCO
- Witstok, J., Smit, R., Maiolino, R., et al., 2022, MNRAS, 515, 1751: Dual constraints with ALMA: new [O III] 88-μm and dust-continuum observations reveal the ISM conditions of luminous LBGs at z ~ 7
- Witstok, J., Smit, R., Maiolino, R., et al., 2021, MNRAS, 508, 1686: Assessing the sources of reionization: a spectroscopic case study of a 30× lensed galaxy at z 5 with Lyα, C IV, Mg II, and [Ne III]
- Witstok, J., Puchwein, E., Kulkarni, G., Smit, R., & Haehnelt, M. G., 2021, A&A, 650, A98: Prospects for observing the low-density cosmic web in Lyman-α emission
- Maiolino, R., Scholtz, J., Witstok, J., et al., 2024, Nature (in press): A small and vigorous black hole in the early Universe
- Vallini, L., Witstok, J., Sommovigo, L., et al., 2023, arXiv:2309.07957: Spatially resolved Kennicutt-Schmidt relation at z~7 and its connection with the interstellar medium properties
- Looser, T. J., D’Eugenio, F., Maiolino, R., Witstok, J., et al., 2023, arXiv:2302.14155: Discovery of a quiescent galaxy at z=7.3
Successful observing proposals
- 2023: Principal Investigator of ALMA program 2023.1.00336.S: Origins of Oxygen: ALMA probing chemical enrichment of the first stars
- 2023: Principal Investigator of ALMA programs 2022.1.00925.S, 2023.1.00379.S: Cold Dust at Cosmic Dawn: uncovering a cool dust reservoir in the Epoch of Reionization
- 2023: Co-Investigator of JWST program 4528 (PI: N. Lützgendorf): Galaxy Assembly with NIRSpec Integral Spectroscopy
- 2023: Co-Investigator of JWST program 4426 (PI: R. Maiolino): An unprecedented spatially resolved analysis of the brightest galaxy at z>10 in GOODS-N
- 2023: Co-Investigator of JWST program 3659 (PI: F. D’Eugenio): What quenched the first massive quiescent galaxy?
- 2023: Co-Investigator of JWST program 3577 (PI: E. Egami): Complete NIRCam Grism Redshift Survey (CONGRESS)
- 2023: Co-Investigator of JWST program 3433 (PI: J. Richard): Mapping star formation and feedback in clumpy galaxies at redshift ~5
- 2023: Co-Investigator of JWST program 3215 (PI: D. J. Eisenstein): Unveiling the Redshift Frontier with JWST
- 2023: Co-Investigator of JWST program 2959 (PI: J. Scholtz): Resolving early galaxy disks at z~8 with NIRSpec-IFS
- 2023: Co-Investigator of JWST program 2957 (PI: H. Übler): The search for Population III stars in low-metallicity 7<z<9.5 galaxies
- 2023: Co-Investigator of ESO programs 111.24P5, 112.25FC (PI: N. Laporte): Unveiling the nature and properties of a bright z=7.66 galaxy in a protocluster core
- 2022: Co-Investigator of ESO program 111.24RC (PI: F. D’Eugenio): The Ionisation Sources of the First Galaxies with X-shooter
- 2022: Co-Investigator of ESO program 111.24RC (PI: F. D’Eugenio): The Ionisation Sources of the First Galaxies with X-shooter
- 2022: Co-Investigator of ESO program 111.24P6 (PI: N. Laporte): The properties of a protocluster candidate observed ~700Myr after the Big-Bang
- 2022: Co-Investigator of ALMA program 2022.1.01384.S (PI: Y. Fudamoto): Probing origins of the [CII] emission in the Epoch of Reionization
- 2022: Co-Investigator of ALMA program 2022.1.01131.S (PI: R. Smit): Resolving disks and mergers in the Epoch of Reionization
- 2022: Co-Investigator of ALMA program 2021.1.00722.S (PI: S. Schouws): Exploring the ISM conditions of UV-selected galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization by Surveying [OIII], [CII], and Dust
- 2021: Principal Investigator of Hubble Space Telescope program ID 16506: Imaging the sites of star formation at sub-kiloparsec scales in the Epoch of Reionization
- 2020: Co-Investigator of ESO program 106.213P (PI: N. Laporte): Unveiling the properties of a dusty strongly-lensed galaxy at z=6.07
- 2018: Co-Principal Investigator of ESO program 105.20RW: Rest-frame UV diagnostics of star-forming galaxies in an extreme protocluster environment at z ~ 3
Talks
- 2024: Invited speaker at the Royal Astronomical Society Astronomy and Geophysics Highlights Meeting (London, UK)
- 2024: Contributed talk and invited panellist at the Royal Astronomical Society Specialist Discussion Meeting (London, UK)
- 2024: Invited seminar talk at the Cosmic DAWN Center (Copenhagen, Denmark)
- 2023: Invited seminar at Complutense University (Madrid, Spain)
- 2023: Two contributed talks at the European Astronomical Society Meeting 2023 (Krakow, Poland)
- 2023: Contributed talk at the National Astronomy Meeting 2023 (Cardiff, UK)
- 2023: Contributed talk at the First Light conference (MIT, USA)
- 2023: Invited speaker at the 242nd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (Albuquerque, USA)
- 2023: Contributed talk at the Meeting for ALMA Young Astronomers 2023 (Virtual)
- 2023: Contributed talk at the Early Results from JWST conference (Cambridge, UK)
- 2022: Invited seminar at Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa, Italy)
- 2022: Contributed talk at Charting the Metallicity Evolution History of the Universe (Catania, Italy)
- 2022: Invited speaker at the In Situ View of Galaxy Formation 2 conference (Ringberg, Germany)
- 2022: Contributed talk at the National Astronomy Meeting 2022 (Warwick, UK)
- 2022: Contributed talk at the European Astronomical Society Meeting 2022 (Valencia, Spain)
- 2022: Seminar talk at the Cosmic DAWN Center (Virtual)
- 2022: Contributed talk at the Meeting for ALMA Young Astronomers 2022 (Virtual)
- 2021: Contributed talk at SAZERAC SIP: Early Galaxy Formation Near and Far (Virtual)
- 2021: Seminar talk at the Institute of Astronomy (Cambridge, UK)
- 2021: Contributed talk at the National Astronomy Meeting 2021 (Virtual)
- 2021: Contributed talk at the European Astronomical Society Meeting 2021 (Virtual)
- 2021: Contributed talk at SAZERAC 2 (Virtual)
- 2020: Seminar talk at the Institute of Astronomy (Cambridge, UK)
- 2020: Two contributed talks at the European Astronomical Society Meeting 2020 (Virtual)
- 2019: Seminar talk at the Kavli Institute for Cosmology (Cambridge, UK)
Teaching
2019-present
Teaching assistant for second, third, and fourth year courses Introduction to Computing, Formation of Structure in the Universe, and the Physics of Cosmology, supervising small groups between two to six students.
2015-2017
Teaching assistant in the first and second year courses Introduction to Astrophysics and Introduction to Solid State Physics, being in charge of supervision sessions, correcting homework, and grading exams.
Outreach
2023: ESA
ESA press release covered by 50+ news outlets including Sky & Telescope.
2023: BNR
Radio interview with BNR Dutch national radio (estimated 0.5 million weekly listeners).
2020: University of Cambridge
Public Lecture at the Open Evening of Institute of Astronomy (University of Cambridge).
2015-2017: University of Leiden
PR ambassador and member of the PR team as a representative of the Bachelor degree of Physics.
2015-2017: Old Observatory (University of Leiden)
Custodian in the visitor centre of the Old Observatory in Leiden, and tour guide in the Old Observatory, displaying the historical building and its original telescopes to groups.