Professor Tamara Davis
Professor

Tamara Davis

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 53134
Mobile: 
0432 526 989

Background

Professor Tamara Davis is an astrophysicist who studies the elusive “dark energy” that’s accelerating the universe. She completed her PhD in 2004 at the University of New South Wales on theoretical cosmology and black holes, then worked on supernova cosmology in two postdoctoral fellowships, the first at the Australian National University (collaborating with Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory) and the second at the University of Copenhagen. In 2008 she moved to Queensland to join the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey team working on mapping the galaxies in the Universe. She led the Dark Theme within the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, is now leading the OzDES survey -- working with the international Dark Energy Survey, and working with working with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument project. As of 2024 she is Deputy Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery.

Her accolades include the Astronomical Society of Australia's Louise Webster Medal for early career research impact, the L'Oréal Women in Science Fellowship for Australia, the Australian Institute of Physics Women in Physics Lectureship, the Australian Academy of Science’s Nancy Millis Medal for outstanding female leadership in science, an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship, the Astronomical Society of Australia's Ellery Lectureship, and a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

Availability

Professor Tamara Davis is:
Not available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Physical Sciences

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales

Research interests

  • Cosmology, Dark Energy, and Dark Matter

    Using supernovae, gravitational waves, and the large-scale structure of the Universe to learn about fundamental physics. On a quest to map all the galaxies in the observable Universe.

Search Professor Tamara Davis’s works on UQ eSpace

264 works between 2001 and 2025
All (264) Journal Article (256) Book Chapter (2) Conference Publication (5) Other Outputs (1)

1 - 20 of 264 works

Featured

2011

Journal Article

The effect of peculiar velocities on supernova cosmology

Davis, Tamara M., Hui, Lam, Frieman, Joshua A., Haugbolle, Troels, Kessler, Richard, Sinclair, Benjamin, Sollerman, Jesper, Bassett, Bruce, Marriner, John, Mortsell, Edvard, Nichol, Robert C., Richmond, Michael W., Sako, Masao, Schneider, Donald P. and Smith, Mathew (2011). The effect of peculiar velocities on supernova cosmology. Astrophysical Journal, 741 (1) 67, 1-15. doi: 10.1088/0004-637X/741/1/67

The effect of peculiar velocities on supernova cosmology

Featured

2011

Journal Article

A new cosmological distance measure using active galactic nuclei

Watson, D., Denney, K. D., Vestergaard, M. and Davis, T. M. (2011). A new cosmological distance measure using active galactic nuclei. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 740 (2) L49, L49.1-L49.5. doi: 10.1088/2041-8205/740/2/L49

A new cosmological distance measure using active galactic nuclei

Featured

2010

Journal Article

Is the Universe leaking Energy?

Davis, T. M. (2010). Is the Universe leaking Energy?. Scientific American, 303 (1), 38-47. doi: 10.1038/scientificamerican0710-38

Is the Universe leaking Energy?

Featured

2007

Journal Article

Scrutinizing exotic cosmological models using ESSENCE Supernova data combined with other cosmological probes

Davis, T. M., Mörtsell, E., Sollerman, J., Becker, A. C., Blondin, S., Challis, P., Smith, R. C., Stubbs, C. W., Suntzeff, N. B., Foley, R. J., Matheson, T., Tonry, J. L., Aguilera, C., Challis, P., Clocchiatti, A., Filippenko, A. V., Foley, R. J., Garnavich, P. M., Jha, S., Krisciunas, K., Kirshner, R. P., Leibundgut, B., Li, W., Matheson, T., Miknaitis, G., Pignata, G., Rest, A., Riess, A. G., Schmidt, B. P. ... Zenteno, A. (2007). Scrutinizing exotic cosmological models using ESSENCE Supernova data combined with other cosmological probes. Astrophysical journal, 666 (2), 716-725. doi: 10.1086/519988

Scrutinizing exotic cosmological models using ESSENCE Supernova data combined with other cosmological probes

Featured

2006

Journal Article

No supernovae associated with two long-duration gamma-ray bursts

Fynbo, Johan P. U., Watson, Darach, Thöne, Christina C., Sollerman, Jesper, Bloom, Joshua S., Davis, Tamara M., Hjorth, Jens, Jakobsson, Páll, Jørgensen, Uffe G., Graham, John F., Fruchter, Andrew S., Bersier, David, Kewley, Lisa, Cassan, Arnaud, Cerón, José María Castro, Foley, Suzanne, Gorosabel, Javier, Hinse, Tobias C., Horne, Keith D., Jensen, Brian L., Klose, Sylvio, Kocevski, Daniel, Marquette, Jean-Baptiste, Perley, Daniel, Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico, Stritzinger, Maximilian D., Vreeswijk, Paul M., Wijers, Ralph A. M., Woller, Kristian G. ... Zub, Marta (2006). No supernovae associated with two long-duration gamma-ray bursts. Nature, 444 (7122), 1047-1049. doi: 10.1038/nature05375

No supernovae associated with two long-duration gamma-ray bursts

Featured

2005

Journal Article

Misconceptions about the Big Bang

Lineweaver, Charles H. and Davis, Tamara M. (2005). Misconceptions about the Big Bang. Scientific American, 292 (3), 36-45. doi: 10.1038/scientificamerican0305-36

Misconceptions about the Big Bang

Featured

2002

Journal Article

Black holes constrain varying constants

Davies, P. C. W., Davis, T. M. and Lineweaver, C. H. (2002). Black holes constrain varying constants. Nature, 418 (6898), 602-603. doi: 10.1038/418602a

Black holes constrain varying constants

2025

Journal Article

Multiprobe cosmology from the abundance of SPT clusters and des galaxy clustering and weak lensing

Bocquet, S., Grandis, S., Krause, E., To, C., Bleem, L. E., Klein, M., Mohr, J. J., Schrabback, T., Alarcon, A., Alves, O., Amon, A., Andrade-Oliveira, F., Baxter, E. J., Bechtol, K., Becker, M. R., Bernstein, G. M., Blazek, J., Camacho, H., Campos, A., Carnero Rosell, A., Carrasco Kind, M., Cawthon, R., Chang, C., Chen, R., Choi, A., Cordero, J., Crocce, M., Davis, C., Derose, J. ... Zohren, H. (2025). Multiprobe cosmology from the abundance of SPT clusters and des galaxy clustering and weak lensing. Physical Review D, 111 (6) 063533. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevD.111.063533

Multiprobe cosmology from the abundance of SPT clusters and des galaxy clustering and weak lensing

2025

Journal Article

It’s not σ8 : constraining the non-linear matter power spectrum with the Dark Energy Survey Year-5 supernova sample

Shah, P, Davis, T M, Vincenzi, M, Armstrong, P, Brout, D, Camilleri, R, Galbany, L, Gill, M S S, Huterer, D, Jeffrey, N, Lahav, O, Lee, J, Lidman, C, Möller, A, Sullivan, M, Whiteway, L, Wiseman, P, Allam, S, Aguena, M, Annis, J, Blazek, J, Brooks, D, Rosell, A Carnero, Carretero, J, Conselice, C, da Costa, L N, Pereira, M E S, Desai, S, Diehl, H T ... Weaverdyck, N (2025). It’s not σ8 : constraining the non-linear matter power spectrum with the Dark Energy Survey Year-5 supernova sample. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 537 (4), 3814-3825. doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf286

It’s not σ8 : constraining the non-linear matter power spectrum with the Dark Energy Survey Year-5 supernova sample

2025

Journal Article

Calibrating the absolute magnitude of type Ia supernovae in nearby galaxies using [OII] and implications for <i>H</i>0

Dixon, M, Mould, J, Lidman, C, Taylor, E N, Flynn, C, Duffy, A R, Galbany, L, Scolnic, D, Davis, T M, Möller, A, Kelsey, L, Lee, J, Wiseman, P, Vincenzi, M, Shah, P, Aguena, M, Allam, S S, Alves, O, Bacon, D, Bocquet, S, Brooks, D, Burke, D L, Rosell, A Carnero, Carollo, D, Carretero, J, Conselice, C, da Costa, L N, Pereira, M E S, Diehl, H T ... Weaverdyck, N (2025). Calibrating the absolute magnitude of type Ia supernovae in nearby galaxies using [OII] and implications for H0. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 538 (2), 782-796. doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf266

Calibrating the absolute magnitude of type Ia supernovae in nearby galaxies using [OII] and implications for <i>H</i>0

2025

Journal Article

The Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program: An updated measurement of the Hubble constant using the Inverse Distance Ladder

Camilleri, R, Davis, T M, Hinton, S R, Armstrong, P, Brout, D, Galbany, L, Glazebrook, K, Lee, J, Lidman, C, Möller, A, Nichol, R C, Sako, M, Scolnic, D, Shah, P, Smith, M, Sullivan, M, Sánchez, B O, Vincenzi, M, Wiseman, P, Allam, S, Abbott, T M C, Aguena, M, Andrade-Oliveira, F, Asorey, J, Avila, S, Bacon, D, Bechtol, K, Bocquet, S, Brooks, D ... Weaverdyck, N (2025). The Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program: An updated measurement of the Hubble constant using the Inverse Distance Ladder. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 537 (2), 1818-1825. doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf122

The Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program: An updated measurement of the Hubble constant using the Inverse Distance Ladder

2024

Journal Article

Constraints on compact objects from the Dark Energy Survey five-year supernova sample

Shah, P, Davis, T M, Vincenzi, M, Armstrong, P, Brout, D, Camilleri, R, Galbany, L, García-Bellido, J, Gill, M S S, Lahav, O, Lee, J, Lidman, C, Möller, A, Sako, M, Sánchez, B O, Sullivan, M, Whiteway, L, Wiseman, P, Allam, S, Aguena, M, Bocquet, S, Brooks, D, Burke, D L, Rosell, A Carnero, da Costa, L N, Pereira, M E S, Desai, S, Dodelson, S, Doel, P ... Weaverdyck, N (2024). Constraints on compact objects from the Dark Energy Survey five-year supernova sample. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 536 (1), 946-961. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae2614

Constraints on compact objects from the Dark Energy Survey five-year supernova sample

2024

Journal Article

The MOST Hosts Survey: Spectroscopic Observation of the Host Galaxies of ∼40,000 Transients Using DESI

Soumagnac, Maayane T., Nugent, Peter, Knop, Robert A., Ho, Anna Y. Q., Hohensee, William, Awbrey, Autumn, Andersen, Alexis, Aldering, Greg, Ventura, Matan, Aguilar, Jessica N., Ahlen, Steven, Benzvi, Segev Y., Brooks, David, Brout, Dillon, Claybaugh, Todd, Davis, Tamara M., Dawson, Kyle, de la Macorra, Axel, Dey, Arjun, Dey, Biprateep, Doel, Peter, Douglass, Kelly A., Forero-Romero, Jaime E., Gaztañaga, Enrique, Gontcho A Gontcho, Satya, Graur, Or, Guy, Julien, Hahn, ChangHoon, Honscheid, Klaus ... Zhou, Zhimin (2024). The MOST Hosts Survey: Spectroscopic Observation of the Host Galaxies of ∼40,000 Transients Using DESI. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 275 (2) 22, 22. doi: 10.3847/1538-4365/ad76ae

The MOST Hosts Survey: Spectroscopic Observation of the Host Galaxies of ∼40,000 Transients Using DESI

2024

Journal Article

Modelling the impact of host galaxy dust on type Ia supernova distance measurements

Popovic, B., Wiseman, P., Sullivan, M., Smith, M., González-Gaitán, S., Scolnic, D., Duarte, J., Armstrong, P., Asorey, J., Brout, D., Carollo, D., Galbany, L., Glazebrook, K., Kelsey, L., Kessler, R., Lidman, C., Lee, J., Lewis, G. F., Möller, A., Nichol, R. C., Sánchez, B. O., Toy, M., Tucker, B. E., Vincenzi, M., Abbott, T. M.C., Aguena, M., Andrade-Oliveira, F., Bacon, D., Brooks, D. ... DES Collaboration (2024). Modelling the impact of host galaxy dust on type Ia supernova distance measurements. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 534 (3), 2263-2276. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae2164

Modelling the impact of host galaxy dust on type Ia supernova distance measurements

2024

Journal Article

Environmental quenching of low-surface-brightness galaxies near hosts from large magellanic cloud to milky way mass scales

Bhattacharyya, J., Peter, A. H. G., Martini, P., Mutlu-Pakdil, B., Drlica-Wagner, A., Pace, A. B., Strigari, L. E., Cheng, T.-Y., Roberts, D., Tanoglidis, D., Aguena, M., Alves, O., Andrade-Oliveira, F., Bacon, D., Brooks, D., Carnero Rosell, A., Carretero, J., da Costa, L. N., Pereira, M. E. S., Davis, T. M., Desai, S., Doel, P., Ferrero, I., Frieman, J., García-Bellido, J., Giannini, G., Gruen, D., Gruendl, R. A., Hinton, S. R. ... Dark Energy Survey Collaboration (2024). Environmental quenching of low-surface-brightness galaxies near hosts from large magellanic cloud to milky way mass scales. The Astrophysical Journal, 975 (2) 244, 1-17. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad79fe

Environmental quenching of low-surface-brightness galaxies near hosts from large magellanic cloud to milky way mass scales

2024

Journal Article

The dark energy survey supernova program: Cosmological analysis and systematic uncertainties

Vincenzi, M., Brout, D., Armstrong, P., Popovic, B., Taylor, G., Acevedo, M., Camilleri, R., Chen, R., Davis, T. M., Lee, J., Lidman, C., Hinton, S. R., Kelsey, L., Kessler, R., Möller, A., Qu, H., Sako, M., Sanchez, B., Scolnic, D., Smith, M., Sullivan, M., Wiseman, P., Asorey, J., Bassett, B. A., Carollo, D., Carr, A., Foley, R. J., Frohmaier, C., Galbany, L. ... DES Collaboration (2024). The dark energy survey supernova program: Cosmological analysis and systematic uncertainties. The Astrophysical Journal, 975 (1) 86, 1-31. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad5e6c

The dark energy survey supernova program: Cosmological analysis and systematic uncertainties

2024

Journal Article

The dark energy survey supernova program: Light curves and 5 yr data release

Sánchez, B. O., Brout, D., Vincenzi, M., Sako, M., Herner, K., Kessler, R., Davis, T. M., Scolnic, D., Acevedo, M., Lee, J., Möller, A., Qu, H., Kelsey, L., Wiseman, P., Armstrong, P., Rose, B., Camilleri, R., Chen, R., Galbany, L., Kovacs, E., Lidman, C., Popovic, B., Smith, M., Shah, P., Sullivan, M., Toy, M., Abbott, T. M. C., Aguena, M., Allam, S. ... DES Collaboration (2024). The dark energy survey supernova program: Light curves and 5 yr data release. The Astrophysical Journal, 975 (1) 5, 1-12. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad739a

The dark energy survey supernova program: Light curves and 5 yr data release

2024

Journal Article

SPT clusters with des and HST weak lensing. II. Cosmological constraints from the abundance of massive halos

Bocquet, S., Grandis, S., Bleem, L. E., Klein, M., Mohr, J. J., Schrabback, T., Abbott, T. M.C., Ade, P. A.R., Aguena, M., Alarcon, A., Allam, S., Allen, S. W., Alves, O., Amon, A., Anderson, A. J., Annis, J., Ansarinejad, B., Austermann, J. E., Avila, S., Bacon, D., Bayliss, M., Beall, J. A., Bechtol, K., Becker, M. R., Bender, A. N., Benson, B. A., Bernstein, G. M., Bhargava, S., Bianchini, F. ... Zuntz, J. (2024). SPT clusters with des and HST weak lensing. II. Cosmological constraints from the abundance of massive halos. Physical Review D, 110 (8) 083510, 8. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevD.110.083510

SPT clusters with des and HST weak lensing. II. Cosmological constraints from the abundance of massive halos

2024

Journal Article

WiFeS observations of nearby southern Type Ia supernova host galaxies

Carr, Anthony, Davis, Tamara M., Camilleri, Ryan, Lidman, Chris, Freeman, Kenneth C. and Scolnic, Daniel (2024). WiFeS observations of nearby southern Type Ia supernova host galaxies. Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 41 e068. doi: 10.1017/pasa.2024.74

WiFeS observations of nearby southern Type Ia supernova host galaxies

2024

Journal Article

DESI 2024: reconstructing dark energy using crossing statistics with DESI DR1 BAO data

Calderon, R., Lodha, K., Shafieloo, A., Linder, E., Sohn, W., de Mattia, A., Cervantes-Cota, J.L., Crittenden, R., Davis, T.M., Ishak, M., Kim, A.G., Matthewson, W., Niz, G., Park, S., Aguilar, J., Ahlen, S., Allen, S., Brooks, D., Claybaugh, T., de la Macorra, A., Dey, A., Dey, B., Doel, P., Forero-Romero, J.E., Gaztañaga, E., Gontcho, S.Gontcho A., Honscheid, K., Howlett, C., Juneau, S. ... Zou, H. (2024). DESI 2024: reconstructing dark energy using crossing statistics with DESI DR1 BAO data. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2024 (10) 048, 048. doi: 10.1088/1475-7516/2024/10/048

DESI 2024: reconstructing dark energy using crossing statistics with DESI DR1 BAO data

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2028
    Cosmic Cartography to Counter Cosmic Conundrums
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2027
    Australian Partnership in the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (ARC LIEF administered by UNSW)
    University of New South Wales
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2031
    ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (ARC Centre of Excellence administered by Swinburne University)
    Swinburne University of Technology
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2025
    A Space Odyssey: Exploring the Universe with Gravitational-Wave Sirens
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2025
    Big Questions Institute Fellowship
    Big Questions Institute Pty Ltd
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2019 - 2024
    Illuminating the Dark Universe
    ARC Australian Laureate Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2021
    Doubling the power of the TAIPAN survey facility (ARC LIEF grant administered by The Australian National University)
    Australian National University
    Open grant
  • 2017
    Ian Potter Conference Grant: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration Meeting 2017
    Ian Potter Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2019
    Weighing Black Holes with The Australian Dark Energy Survey
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2019
    Details of the Dark Side
    Vice-Chancellor's Research and Teaching Fellowship
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2016
    The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP) (ARC LIEF Project administered by The University of Western Australia)
    University of Western Australia
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2017
    Mapping the Dark Matter with Early Type Galaxies (ARC Linkage Project administered by Swinburne University of Technology)
    Swinburne University of Technology
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2015
    Mapping the Universe with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS) (ARC LIEF Grant administered by The University of Sydney)
    ARC LIEF Collaborating/Partner Organisation Contributions
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2017
    ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) (ARC COE administered by the University of Sydney)
    University of Sydney
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2013
    ResTeach 2011 0.05 FTE School of Mathematics and Physics
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2013
    Fundamental physics in distant galaxies (ARC Discovery Project administered by Swinburne University)
    Swinburne University of Technology
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2012
    Investigating Growth of Structure in the Universe using ASKAP and SkyMapper
    UWA-UQ Bilateral Research Collaboration Award
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2014
    Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and Dark Flow: Galaxy motion reveals fundamental physics
    ARC Future Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2010
    Cosmological testing of fundamental physics
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Tamara Davis is:
Not available for supervision

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Measuring Neutrino Mass with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Cullan Howlett

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Weighing supermassive black holes with the Dark Energy Survey

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Benjamin Pope

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Cosmology with the Dark Energy Survey

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Cullan Howlett

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Gravitational wave cosmology

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Cullan Howlett

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Galaxy motions with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Khaled Said Soliman

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Observing Naked-Eye Stars and their Planets with TESS

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Benjamin Pope

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Modelling exotic cosmological models in the era of next generation galaxy surveys

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Cullan Howlett

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Completing the Puzzle: Unveiling Clues for Gravitational Wave Astrophysics and Cosmology with Simulations

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Cullan Howlett

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Using the motions of galaxies to probe fundamental physics

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Cullan Howlett

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Investigating Gravitational Wave Cosmology with Simulated Data

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Cullan Howlett

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Machine learning cosmology

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Rossana Ruggeri

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Completing the Puzzle: Unveiling Clues for Gravitational Wave Astrophysics and Cosmology with Simulations

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Cullan Howlett

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Professor Tamara Davis directly for media enquiries about:

  • Astronomy
  • Astrophysics
  • Cosmology
  • Dark energy
  • Dark Matter
  • Exploding stars
  • Physics
  • Quantum gravity
  • Stars - astrophysics
  • Supernovae (exploding stars)
  • Universe
  • Vacuum energy

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