Astronomy Colloquium

Using large data sets like SDSS and COSMOS we can now study the evolving galaxy population with unprecedented statistical precision over a wide range of cosmic time.  This has opened up new approaches to the study of galaxy evolution.   Key simplicities, or even symmetries, can be identified within the evolving galaxy population, the implications of which can then be developed, often analytically, to give new insights into the physical evolution of individual galaxies.  I will review some of the new perspectives that have been gained in this way, focusing mostly on the control and eventual quenching of star-formation, but also touching on the merging of galaxies and their structural morphologies, as well as the links with other phenomenological approaches to this topic.