Steven Cunnington

I am a cosmologist trying to understand how our Universe works. To do this, I use radio telescopes to map the cosmic web across billions of light years. 

Originally from Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, I am a multi-wavelength cosmologist, and since April 2025, I have been working at the ICG as a Stephen Hawking Fellow. Before that, I worked for three years at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at The University of Manchester. I had a short-term position prior to this for four months in the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh, which followed a 2-year position in the Cosmology and Relativity group at Queen Mary University of London, beginning in October 2019. I completed my PhD at the ICG, which I started in October 2016.

I am most interested in how surveys of large-scale cosmic structure can test our understanding of the Universe. My primary research is developing a novel technique that maps emission from neutral hydrogen gas at radio wavelengths. Because hydrogen traces the underlying structure of the Universe, maps of its intensity allow us to probe the cosmic web, which is rich in information. I hold leading roles in the collaborations that are developing this technique with telescopes such as MeerKAT and its successor, the SKA Observatory. I am also involved in optical/near-infrared collaborations and am interested in the benefits gained from cross-correlation between surveys at multiple wavelengths.