Allison Man: Assistant Professor at Department of Physics & Astronomy, UBC Faculty of Science

Assistant Professor

Faculty of Science

Research Classification

Cosmology and extragalactic astronomy

Research Interests

galaxy formation and evolution

Relevant Thesis-Based Degree Programs

View all programs

Research Options

I am available and interested in collaborations (e.g. clusters, grants).

I am interested in and conduct interdisciplinary research.

I am interested in working with undergraduate students on research projects.

Open All

Recruitment

Looking to recruit:

Master's students

Doctoral students

Postdoctoral Fellows

Desired start dates: Any time / year round

Other options:

I support public scholarship, e.g. through the Public Scholars Initiative, and am available to supervise students and Postdocs interested in collaborating with external partners as part of their research.

I support experiential learning experiences, such as internships and work placements, for my graduate students and Postdocs.

I am open to hosting Visiting International Research Students (non-degree, up to 12 months).

I am interested in hiring Co-op students for research placements.

Complete these steps before you reach out to a faculty member!

Check requirements

Familiarize yourself with program requirements. You want to learn as much as possible from the information available to you before you reach out to a faculty member. Be sure to visit the graduate degree program listing and program-specific websites.
Check whether the program requires you to seek commitment from a supervisor prior to submitting an application. For some programs this is an essential step while others match successful applicants with faculty members within the first year of study. This is either indicated in the program profile under "Admission Information & Requirements" - "Prepare Application" - "Supervision" or on the program website.

Focus your search

Identify specific faculty members who are conducting research in your specific area of interest.
Establish that your research interests align with the faculty member’s research interests.
- Read up on the faculty members in the program and the research being conducted in the department.
- Familiarize yourself with their work, read their recent publications and past theses/dissertations that they supervised. Be certain that their research is indeed what you are hoping to study.

Make a good impression

Compose an error-free and grammatically correct email addressed to your specifically targeted faculty member, and remember to use their correct titles.
- Do not send non-specific, mass emails to everyone in the department hoping for a match.
- Address the faculty members by name. Your contact should be genuine rather than generic.
Include a brief outline of your academic background, why you are interested in working with the faculty member, and what experience you could bring to the department. The supervision enquiry form guides you with targeted questions. Ensure to craft compelling answers to these questions.
Highlight your achievements and why you are a top student. Faculty members receive dozens of requests from prospective students and you may have less than 30 seconds to pique someone’s interest.
Demonstrate that you are familiar with their research:
- Convey the specific ways you are a good fit for the program.
- Convey the specific ways the program/lab/faculty member is a good fit for the research you are interested in/already conducting.
Be enthusiastic, but don’t overdo it.

Attend an information session

G+PS regularly provides virtual sessions that focus on admission requirements and procedures and tips how to improve your application.

ADVICE AND INSIGHTS FROM UBC FACULTY ON REACHING OUT TO SUPERVISORS

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a potential thesis supervisor.

Supervision Enquiry

If you have reviewed some of this faculty member's publications, understand their research interests and have reviewed the admission requirements, you may .

Graduate Student Supervision

Master's Student Supervision

Theses completed in 2010 or later are listed below. Please note that there is a 6-12 month delay to add the latest theses.

A multi-wavelength study of the intracluster medium in the galaxy clusters (2023)

Galaxy clusters consist of galaxies, dark matter, and extremely hot electron gas also known as intra-cluster medium (ICM).The ICM can influence galaxy evolution by interacting with the galaxy via ram pressure stripping or cutting off the gas supply of the galaxy.Shocks in the ICM can also give us some hints about the velocity of galaxy subclusters which in its turn tells us how the universe evolves on a large scale.We present a detailed study of the ICM in three galaxy clusters MS0451, Abell2744, and MACSJ1149 using data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), Bolocam, and Chandra telescope.Based on the X-ray data we identified the electron number density and predicted the expected amplitude of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) peak. The SZ effect occurs when the cosmic microwave background photons scatter on the high-energetic electrons of the medium. The amount of this scattering indicates how hot and dense the ICM is. The ALMA telescope provides a good spatial resolution to probe the properties of the ICM in more detail compared to the single-dish observatories. Our study highlights the need for additional ALMA observations using the 7-m and other arrays, or additional single-dish facilities to address further scientific questions related to the ICM in the cluster. Our study emphasizes the importance of multi-wavelength and high angular resolution observations to fully understand the gas content of galaxy clusters.

View record

Breaking the third dimension : outflow properties of a triply lensed quiescent galaxy at z~1.6 (2023)

The cause of galaxy quenching is varied and complex, which has led to nearly30 years of contention around its origins. Using observations from the MultiUnit Spectrograph Explorer (MUSE) of a triply lensed quiescent galaxywith an unusually high magnification of approximately 30 at a redshift ofz=1.59, we have discovered a possible redshifted outflow signature in its MgII profile through multicomponent fitting. Our integral field observationsare amplified by a gravitational lens, enabling us to determine the spatialand energetic extent of the outflow, as well as its rate of mass transportationacross the galaxy at a higher resolution. By examining this galaxy just afterthe peak of star formation, we aim to provide a detailed analysis of thestructural effects galactic-scale outflows can have in quenching a galaxy.

View record