Professor Evrard studies phenomenological problems in cosmology using computational modeling of the formation and evolution of large-scale cosmic structure. By modeling the complex astrophysical processes that shape the development of its visible components on galactic and larger scales, virtual worlds are realized within the framework of a particular cosmological model dominated by unseen components of dark matter and dark energy. Synthetic observations of the visible structures contained on such virtual skies offer the means for direct comparison to observations of our own universe obtained by ground- and space-based telescopes. Comparative studies of statistical samples are then used to address questions ranging from the fundamental (What are the energy and matter components that dominate our universe?) to the detailed (How well do visible and dark matter components trace one another within a cluster of galaxies?).

Professor Evrard is a member of the Dark Energy Survey, the XMM XXL survey and the Virgo Consortium. Modeling by him and his group is done on supercomputers located at Michigan and at national high performance computing centers. Support for Professor Evrard’s research has come from NASA, NSF, DOE, NATO and the University of Michigan.