TALK TITLE: Star Formation Then and Now

ABSTRACT: Stars are fundamental to astronomy, and how they form influences everything from exoplanet studies to cosmology. Stars form in heavily obscured molecular clouds, and understanding the initial conditions of star formation persists as one of the leading problems of modern astrophysics. Beyond the Milky Way—especially in high-redshift galaxies—the physical processes driving star formation become even more challenging to decipher. In this talk, I will show how we can advance the field by making vital connections between local, extragalactic, and early universe star formation. I will discuss theoretical models that explore the cosmological evolution of interstellar dust. I will then present state-of-the-art ALMA observations, which are opening new windows onto star formation in a wide variety of environments beyond the Milky Way.