"from little things big things grow”
-- Paul Kelly & Kev Carmody
choir is a new collaboration that was started in early 2024 by Olivia Cooper (UT), Erini Lambrides (NASA Goddard), Arianna Long (UW), Sinclaire Manning (UMass), and Jed McKinney (UT). In late 2024, the collaboration grew by welcoming Jonathan Cohn (Dartmouth), Lindsay House (UT), Taylor Hutchison (NASA Goddard), and Gourav Khullar (UW).
Mission Statement:
choir is a growing ensemble of astronomers who place equal emphasis on understanding the evolution of galaxies across multiple scales and bettering our systems of doing science. We center intersectionality and value interdisciplinarity through tangible support and initiatives led by our collective of scientists. We are humans first and astronomers second; in both of these roles, we serve as stewards of education, justice, and the co-creation of knowledge and community.
From the production of the first dust grains to the growth of supermassive black holes, paradigms of galaxy evolution in the z > 1 cosmos that were once thought fixed are now being contested. One of our key goals as a collaboration is to reconceptualize our long held assumptions in light of new observations and theory, across all extragalactic research areas.
As galaxy evolution is revitalized, so too is the culture of astronomy through new ways of creating, collaborating, and sharing knowledge. As a collaboration, we place equal emphasis on challenging scientific paradigms and critically inspecting and bettering our ways of doing science. Our aim is to lead and empower our community to take action on topics such as inclusion, climate change, justice & advocacy, and outreach.