Prof. de Blok’s research focuses on the structure, dynamics, and evolution of galaxies, with a particular emphasis on the role of neutral hydrogen gas. He is especially known for his work on low surface brightness galaxies and the dark matter distribution in disk galaxies. He serves as the Principal Investigator of the MHONGOOSE survey, a MeerKAT Large Survey Program which uses the SKA precursor telescope MeerKAT to make extremely deep observations of neutral hydrogen in nearby galaxies. This work is supported by a 2.5 million euro ERC Advanced Grant "MeerGas".
Prof de Blok works at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. In addition, in 2021, Prof. de Blok was appointed Honorary Professor in the Structure and Evolution of Nearby Galaxies at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute of the University of Groningen. He is also affiliated with the University of Cape Town as an Honorary Professor. He has contributed significantly to the development of MeerKAT and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
Prof. de Blok has authored over 200 papers that have received over 28,000 citations.
