Professor Buta's research concerns the morphology and dynamics of barred and oval disk galaxies. He is particularly interested in the evolution of such galaxies and the role the bar plays in generating structure.
Professor Buta is also interested in the local density of matter and has been carrying out basic studies of galaxies in the "Zone of Avoidance," where dust in the plane of the Milky Way seriously obscures the light of even nearby galaxies.
