Welcome to another instalment of our Spotlight On feature, where we celebrate the work of our world-leading academics. Professor Leah Morabito from our Department of Physics is revealing a hidden population of supermassive black holes and reshaping our understanding of cosmic evolution.
Watch our interview with Leah and read about how her career has taken her from the US Air Force to pioneering astrophysics research.
As a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, Leah investigates how supermassive black holes and their powerful plasma jets influence the galaxies they inhabit. Her work addresses fundamental questions about how galaxies have evolved throughout the history of the Universe.
Leah pioneered a breakthrough method to distinguish supermassive black hole activity from star formation in radio observations.
Leading ultra-high-definition imaging with the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR)—a network of 110,000 antennas across nine European countries—she captured images at FM radio frequencies that penetrate dust and gas.
This allowed astronomers to peer into star-forming regions and galactic cores, uncovering previously unknown populations of active supermassive black holes.
Her innovative technique is transforming our understanding of how these cosmic giants shape the Universe.
The implications of Leah’s achievement have been profound. Her research has revealed that supermassive black holes play an even larger role in galaxy evolution than previously understood.
As a result, an entirely new population of active supermassive black holes has been identified, fundamentally changing our picture of the cosmos.
This discovery will help scientists understand how the Universe has grown and transformed over billions of years.
The high-resolution imaging techniques Leah developed have applications far beyond her original research focus.
They are now being used across multiple areas of astronomy to study galaxy clusters, investigate supernovae, and examine some of the most distant galaxies ever observed.
For Leah, knowing that her methodological innovations have unlocked new possibilities for other scientists is hugely rewarding. Her contribution extends beyond individual discoveries to provide tools that advance the entire field.
These achievements were recognised in 2024 when Leah was awarded the Royal Astronomical Society Fowler Award, acknowledging the significance of her contributions to astronomy.
Leah’s route to academia was unconventional, exemplifying how diverse paths can lead to scientific excellence.
She started out studying maths, but inspired by an introduction to astronomy course, she changed to study physics instead. Her undergraduate studies were supported by a US military scholarship, and Leah served six years with the US Air Force before deciding to focus on academic study.
She was drawn to astronomy in part because of its capacity to peer backwards through time. Using Earth-based telescopes, Leah can observe galaxies as they appeared when the Universe was just a quarter of its current age.
Leah joined Durham University in 2019. Our Physics Department is at the forefront of modern astrophysics. We combine both observational astronomy, like the work Leah does, and computational astronomy, which involves building complex simulations of the universe.
Leah believes this collaboration between telescope-based research and simulation work allows for powerful insights that neither approach could achieve alone.
Looking ahead, Leah hopes to continue to push the boundaries of our cosmic understanding and investigate how blackholes have shaped the Universe we observe today.
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