Galaxy Evolution in the IR and the Promise of SIRTF (Invited)

The launch of SIRTF on August 25, 2003, opens an exciting new era for the infrared. Building on the legacy of IRAS, COBE & ISO, SIRTF will image the sky from 3.6–160μm in tiered surveys, from wide (∼80 sq. deg.) reaching z∼1 in depth for L FIR * galaxies, to small, deep, confusion-limited surveys. SIRTF will measure the accumulation of stellar mass at high redshift, and the evolution of dusty systems (disks, starbursts & AGN) since z∼4, on size scales up to several hundred Mpc. The next decade will also see two major all-sky IR surveys, ASTRO-F and WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), and the launch of Herschel and Planck.