Prof Joseph Caruana read for a B.Sc. (Hons) in physics and mathematics at the University of Malta. Following this, he carried out his doctoral research within the high-redshift group of the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. There he read for a DPhil in astrophysics as a Marie Curie research fellow in ELIXIR - a network associated with the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope NIRSpec Instrument. While at Oxford he tutored cosmology & general relativity at Christ Church.
Between 2012 and 2016 he was a postdoctoral researcher in astrophysics at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), as a member of the Galaxies & Quasars group and the MUSE Consortium.
In 2016 he joined the University of Malta's Department of Physics and Institute of Space Sciences & Astronomy (ISSA), lecturing on nuclear physics and astronomy & cosmology. Amongst other study units, he currently teaches geometrical optics, physical optics, advanced astrophysics and cosmology, and philosophy of science.
His main research in astrophysics revolves around observational cosmology, particularly the early universe and reionisation; galaxy formation & evolution; and galactic dynamics. He is also interested in the history of astronomy. His multidisciplinary research interests are in the study of Night Sky Brightness (NSB) and light pollution, and applications of physics and mathematics to hyperbaric medicine.
He is very active in science communication, regularly speaking on astronomy, light pollution, and the importance of preserving the Islands’ Dark Sky Heritage Areas (DSHAs).
Galaxy Formation and Evolution
Cosmic reionisation, Lyman alpha emission, and the Universe at high redshift
Observational Cosmology
Galactic Dynamics
Night Sky Brightness and Effects of Light Pollution on Ecology and Human Health
