Abstract: I will describe a method that can be used to reconstruct the initial conditions of the local universe accurately. The method is applied to the SDSS volume. High-resolution simulations of the reconstructed initial conditions have been carried to recover of the formation histories and structures observed in the local universe. I will also describe how the results can be used to study the formation and structure of the local cosmic web and of galaxies that are embedded in it.
Houjun Mo is professor of astronomy at University of Massachusetts. His research has been focused on galaxy formation, large-scale structure of the universe, and cosmology. He has coauthored a textbook on `Galaxy formation and evolution' which was published by Cambridge University Press. Houjun obtained his Ph.D degree in Astrophysics at Munich University. He was a tenured scientific staff at the Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics before he joined his current position at UMass in 2003. More personal info on http://people.umass.edu/~hjmo/