We present results from a new modelling technique which can account for the
observed optical/NIR - FIR/submm spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of normal
star-forming galaxies in terms of a minimum number of essential parameters
specifying the star-formation history and geometrical distribution of stars and
dust. The model utilises resolved optical/NIR images to constrain the old
stellar population and associated dust, and geometry-sensitive colour
information in the FIR/submm to constrain the spatial distributions of young
stars and associated dust. It is successfully applied to the edge-on spirals
NGC891 and NGC5907. In both cases the young stellar population powers the bulk
of the FIR/sub-mm emission. The model also accounts for the observed surface
brightness distribution and large-scale radial brightness profiles in NGC891 as
determined using the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) at 170 and 200 mcrions
and at 850 micron using SCUBA.Comment: 20 pages (Latex), Highlight talk at the Joint European and National
Astronomical Meeting JENAM 2001, to be published in Reviews in Modern
Astronomy 15: Five Days of Creation: Astronomy with Large Telescopes from
Ground and Base. Germany : Astronomische Gesellschaft, 200
