Prof. Jonelle Walsh (Texas A&M)

Over the past 30 years it has become increasingly clear that supermassive black holes are essential components of galaxies, as demonstrated by the correlations connecting black hole masses and large-scale galaxy properties. Although about ~150 dynamical black hole mass measurements have been made to date, the local black hole mass census is highly incomplete. Gaining a more complete picture of black hole demographics and a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that drive black hole - galaxy co-evolution requires the measurement of black holes in a wider range of galaxies with diverse evolutionary histories. I will discuss several recent and on-going programs aimed at taking this necessary step, as well as the observational and modeling advances that have made the work possible.