Abstract
The superb capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have extended our view deep into the earliest epochs of the Universe, while the numerous wide-field cosmological surveys anticipated in the coming decades will dramatically increase our observational footprint on the sky. Together, these missions worldwide will provide an unprecedented census for galaxies across space and time, offering a golden opportunity to uncover the physical processes that shaped galaxy evolution and our Universe. In this talk, I will highlight my past and current efforts in bridging observations and theory through semi-analytic models (SAMs) and cosmological simulations. This includes contributions to numerous JWST collaborations through theoretical forecasts and my signature work on addressing the physical origins of the emerging first galaxy populations and their properties. Leveraging the wealth of Hubble and incoming JWST observations, my future research group will continue to develop a world-leading theoretical framework for galaxy formation and a versatile synthetic observation pipeline, providing the necessary tools and data products to fully exploit upcoming wide-field cosmological surveys and deliver groundbreaking insights. I will also discuss how these efforts will create exciting opportunities for students at HKU to participate in international collaborations and help raise the visibility of HKU, the new HKIAA, and adjacent astronomical communities across China, East Asian, and on the global stage.
Anyone interested is welcome to attend.