Staff profile

Dr Nigel Metcalfe, MA (Physics), DPhil (Astrophysics), FRAS

Personal web page

Associate Fellow in the Department of Physics

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 33 43566

Room number: 323

(email at nigel.metcalfe@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

Responsibilities within department

Member of the Computing Support Management Committee. Member of the Laboratories Committee. Administration and Teaching database design, development and maintenance (mysql and php scripting). Physics computer classroom coordinator.

Teaching activity

Leader of the Level 3 Key Skills Computing Course. Academic adviser.

Research interests

Deep galaxy counts and clustering and their interpretation in light of current theories of galaxy evolution and cosmology. I am on the Science Council of the Pan-STARRS project, chair their Data Reduction and Verification Group (DRAVG) and co-ordinate their detection efficiency server project. I am also part of the VST Atlas Survey team.

Publications

Books: edited

Metcalfe, Nigel & Shanks, Tom (2007). Cosmic Frontiers. Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series Volume 379. Michigan: Sheridan Books.
Metcalfe, Nigel & Shanks, Tom (2002). A New Era in Cosmology. ASP Conference Series Vol 283. Michigan: Sheridan Books.

Conference papers

Holliman, Nick., Baugh, Carlton., Frenk, Carlos., Jenkins, Adrian., Froner, Barbara., Hassaine, Djamel., Helly, John., Metcalfe, Nigel. & Okamoto, Takashi. (2006), Cosmic cookery: making a stereoscopic 3D animated movie, in Woods, Andrew J., Dodgson, Neil A., Merritt, John O., Bolas, Mark T. & McDowall, Ian E. eds, Proceedings of the SPIE 6055: Stereoscopic Displays and Virtual Reality Systems XIII. 34-45.
Metcalfe, Nigel., Shanks, Tom. , Fong, Dick. , McCracken, Henry J., Campos, Ana., Gardner, Jon P., & Thompson, David. (2002), Do Galaxies Form at High Redshift?, ASP Conference Series 283: A New Era In Cosmology. Durham, UK, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 361-364.
McCracken, H., , Metcalfe, N., , Shanks, T., & et al. (2000), Galaxy Clustering in the Herschel Deep Field, in Mazure, A.,, Le Fèvre, O., & Le Brun, V. eds, ASP Conference Series 200: Clustering at High Redshift. 68.
Metcalfe, N., , Shanks, T., , Fong, R., , Gardner, J., & Roche, N. (1996), Faint Galaxy Number Counts, in Bender, R., & Davies, R.L. eds, IAU Symposium 171: New Light on Galaxy Evolution. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 225-.

Journal papers: academic

Bielby, R.M., Hill, M.D., Metcalfe, N. & Shanks, T. (2012). Submillimetre observations of X-ray active galactic nuclei in the William Herschel Deep Field. MNRAS 419: 1315-1323.
Pastorello, A., Smartt, S.J., Kankare, D., Young, E., Smith, K., Botticella, M.T., Mattila, S., Kotak, R., Valenti, S., Metcalfe, N., , Sweeney, W.E., Price, P.A., Magnier, E., Tonry, J., Bresolin, F., Kudritzki, R.P., Chambers, K., Stubbs, C., Rest, A., Narayan, G., Riess, A., Huber, M., & Wood-Vasey, W.M. (2010). Detection of PTF10cwr/CSS100313 on PS1 sky survey images and host galaxy identification. The Astronomer's Telegram 2504: 1-+.
Pastorello, A, Smartt, SJ, Botticella, MT, Maguire, K, Fraser, M, Smith, K, Kotak, R, Magill, L, Valenti, S, Young, DR, Gezari, S, Bresolin, F, Kudritzki, R, Howell, DA, Rest, A, Metcalfe, N, Mattila, S, Kankare, E, Huang, KY, Urata, Y, Burgett, WS, Chambers, KC, Dombeck, T, Flewelling, H, Grav, T, Heasley, JN, Hodapp, KW, Kaiser, N, Luppino, GA, Lupton, RH, Magnier, EA, Monet, DG, Morgan, JS, Onaka, PM, Price, PA, Rhoads, PH, Siegmund, WA, Stubbs, CW, Sweeney, WE, Tonry, JL, Wainscoat, RJ, Waterson, MF, Waters, C & Wynn-Williams, CG (2010). ULTRA-BRIGHT OPTICAL TRANSIENTS ARE LINKED WITH TYPE Ic SUPERNOVAE. Astrophysical Journal Letters 724(1): L16-L21.
Metcalfe, N., Shanks, T., Weilbacher, P.M., McCracken, H.J., Fong, R. & Thompson, D. (2006). Galaxy number counts - VI. An H-band survey of the Herschel Deep Field. Monthly Notices Of The Royal Astronomical Society 370(3): 1257-1273.
Frith, W.J., Metcalfe, N. & Shanks, T. (2006). New H-band galaxy number counts: a large local hole in the galaxy distribution. Monthly Notices Of The Royal Astronomical Society 371(4): 1601-1609.
Hook, I. M., Jørgensen, Inger, Allington-Smith, J. R., , Davies, R. L., , Metcalfe, N., , Murowinski, R. G., & Crampton, D. (2004). The Gemini-North Multi-Object Spectrograph: Performance in Imaging, Long-Slit, and Multi-Object Spectroscopic Modes. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 116: 425-440.
Busswell, G. S., , Shanks, T., , Frith, W. J., , Outram, P. J., , Metcalfe, N., & Fong, R. (2004). The local hole in the galaxy distribution: new optical evidence. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 354: 991-1004.
Frith, W. J., , Busswell, G. S., , Fong, R., , Metcalfe, N. & Shanks, T. (2003). The local hole in the galaxy distribution: evidence from 2MASS. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 345: 1049-1056.
Metcalfe, N., Shanks, T., Campos, A., McCracken, H. J. & Fong, R. (2001). Galaxy number counts - V. Ultradeep counts: the Herschel and Hubble deep fields. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 323(4): 795-830.
McCracken, H. J., , Shanks, T., , Metcalfe, N., , Fong, R.' & Campos, A. (2000). Galaxy clustering in the Herschel Deep Field. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 318: 913-924.
McCracken, H. J., , Metcalfe, N., , Shanks, T., , Campos, A., , Gardner, J. P., & Fong, R. (2000). Galaxy number counts - IV. Surveying the Herschel Deep Field in the near-infrared. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 311: 707-718.
Metcalfe, N., Shanks, T. & Fong, R. (2000). Ultra-Deep Imaging at the William Herschel Telescope. The Newsletter of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING Newsl.), issue no. 3, p. 3-6 3: 3-6.
Castro-Tirado, J. A., Gorosabel, J., Davies, J., Leggett, S., Greiner, J., Birkle, K., Thompson, D., Hagen, H.-J., Trapero, J., Sánchez, E., Campos, A., Metcalfe, N., , Béjar, V., Cairós, M. L., Corradi, R., Guerrero, M., Gutiérrez, C., Iglesias, J., Kemp, S., Licandro, J., Mora, A., Oscoz, A., Sabalisk, N., Vílchez, J., Villaver, E., Zapatero-Osorio, R. M., Guziy, S. S., Shlyapnikov, A. A., & Pedersen, H. (1999). Optical/ir Follow-Up Observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts Detected by RXTE. Astrophysical Letters Communications 39: 241-.
Groot, P. J., Galama, T. J., van Paradijs, J., Kouveliotou, C., Wijers, R. A. M. J., Bloom, J., Tanvir, N., Vanderspek, R., Greiner, J., Castro-Tirado, A. J., Gorosabel, J., von Hippel, T., Lehnert, M., Kuijken, K., Hoekstra, H., Metcalfe, N., , Howk, C., Conselice, C., Telting, J., Rutten, R. G. M., Rhoads, J., Cole, A., Pisano, D. J., Naber, R., & Schwarz, R. (1998). A Search for Optical Afterglow from GRB 970828. Astrophysical Journal 493: L27-.
Young, C. Ke-Shih., Metcalfe, N. , Zhu, Jin., Wu, Hong. & Chen, Jian-Sheng. (1998). The \vec[t] system; a new system for estimating the total magnitudes of galaxies. Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series 130: 173-182.
Metcalfe, N., Ratcliffe, A. , Shanks, T. & Fong, R. (1998). UBVRI photometry of the Durham-AAT redshift survey. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 294: 147-.
Metcalfe, N., Shanks, T., Campos, A., Fong, R. & Gardner, J.P. (1996). Galaxy formation at high redshifts. Nature 383: 236-.
Roche, N., Shanks, T., Metcalfe, N. & Fong, R. (1996). The clustering of blue and red galaxies at B~25.5 mag. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 280: 397-426.
Metcalfe, N., Fong, R. & Shanks, T. (1995). CCD galaxy photometry and the calibration of photographic surveys. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 274: 769-784.
Metcalfe, N., Shanks, T., Fong, R. & Roche, N. (1995). Galaxy number counts - III. Deep CCD observations to B=27.5 mag. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 273: 257-276.
Metcalfe, N. , Godwin, J.G., & Peach, J.V. (1994). Multicolour photometry of the Shapley 8 cluster of galaxies. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 267: 431-446.
Roche, N., Shanks, T., Metcalfe, N. & Fong, R. (1993). The Angular Correlation Function of Galaxies with B=25 mag. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 263: 360-.
Metcalfe, N. & Shanks, T. (1991). CCD photometry of Cepheid sequences in four nearby galaxies. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 250: 438-452.
Metcalfe, N., Shanks, T., Fong, R. & Jones, L.R. (1991). Galaxy number counts. II - CCD observations to B = 25 mag. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 249: 498-522.
Metcalfe, N., Shanks, T. & Fong, D. (1991). Ultra-deep INT CCD imaging of the faintest galaxies. GEMINI Newsletter Royal Greenwich Observatory 34: 12-.
Metcalfe, N., Shanks, T., Tanvir, N.R. & Fong, R. (1990). Stellar photometry in nearby galaxies. GEMINI Newsletter Royal Greenwich Observatory 27: 3-5.
Shanks, T., Sutton, D. Hale, Fong, R. & Metcalfe, N. (1989). An Extended Galaxy Redshift Survey - Part Three - Constraints on Largescale Structure. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 237: 589-.
Metcalfe, N., Fong, R., Shanks, T. & Kilkenny, D. (1989). An extended galaxy redshift survey. I - The catalogue. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 236: 207-234.
Hale-Sutton, D., Fong, R., Metcalfe, N. & Shanks, T. (1989). An extended galaxy redshift survey. II - Virial constraints on Omega0. III - Constraints on large-scale structure. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 237: 569-587.
Metcalfe, N. & Shanks, T. (1988). Cepheid Photometry in M31 M33 NGC2403 and M8. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 100: 1222-.
Metcalfe, N., Godwin, J.G., & Spenser, S.D. (1987). The Shapley 8 cluster of galaxies - Redshifts and dynamics. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 225: 581-590.
Godwin, J.G., Metcalfe, N. & Peach, J.V. (1983). The Coma Cluster - Part One - a Catalogue of Magnitudes Colours Ellipticities and Position Angles for 6724 Galaxies in the Field of the Coma Cluster. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 202: 113-.
Dawe, J.A. & Metcalfe, N. (1982). Uniformity of UKSTU photographic plates. Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia 4: 466-468.
Carter, D. & Metcalfe, N. (1980). The morphology of clusters of galaxies. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 191: 325-337.