#  Research Interests 

 



I work on a wide variety of topics in cosmology and extragalactic astronomy. Much of my work concerns [precision cosmological constraints](/cosmology-research) from the measurement of the large-scale structure of the Universe. Another major theme is the [evolution of galaxies](/galaxy-evolution) and their relation to their environment. My work spans observations, theoretical astrophysics, and numerical simulations.

Currently I am the Director of the [Sloan Digital Sky Survey III](http://www.sdss3.org), which includes a major large-scale structure known as the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, as well as surveys of the stellar population of the Milky Way galaxy and a search for extra-solar planets. My group at Harvard has data rights in SDSS-III.

Harvard-Smithsonian is a partner in the MMT and Magellan Telescopes, both of which I have used extensively for my research.

In addition to the major topics above, I have also worked in gravitational lensing, surveys and analysis of white dwarf stars, and numerous collaborative projects.

   ![sdss_tel_00_509.72dpi.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum6551/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/deisenstein/files/sdss_tel_00_509.72dpi.jpg?itok=_O7tDvdg) 

 

The Sloan 2.5-m Telescope at Apache Point Observatory