During my career my research has moved from detailed studies of nearby stars, topics in Galactic structure and nearby galaxies to broader questions relating to the large scale structure of the Universe and its contents, and the formation and evolution of galaxies. My recent work addresses the origin of the earliest galaxies and understanding their role in cosmic reionisation. My programmes are primarily observational exploiting ESO’s Very Large Telescope, the twin Keck telescopes, the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA), as well as the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. I remain enthusiastic about the use of new instruments and observational opportunities when they further the progress that can be made in these areas. I am co-scientific lead for the Prime Focus Spectrograph, a highly- multiplexed instrument nearing completion for the Subaru 8 metre telescope in Hawaii, and lead extragalactic scientist for the planned Wide Field Spectroscopic Telescope - a 12 metre panoramic survey instrument destined for Chile in the 2030s.