Cosmic origins: How do galaxies build chemical complexity over cosmic time?

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This project aims to answer questions of how the chemical complexity required to form stars, planets and life arose through cosmic history. Galaxies are the chemical factories of the Universe. Over the life of the cosmos, they have built reservoirs of the elements required to make stars and planets. Yet we have no complete theory of how this process unfolds or how different galaxy types form. By using advanced instrumentation and developing innovative computational techniques, this project aims to use the motions and chemistry of stars to map the history of galaxies in a new way. This would establish where and when stars formed in different galaxies, revealing the importance of black holes, dark matter, galaxy collisions and local environment in the build-up of chemical complexity in our Universe.