Debra Ann Fischer is a professor of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

researching detection and characterization of exoplanets. She was part of the team to discover the first known multiple-planet system.

Education

Fischer received her degree from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

in 1975, a masters of science from

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

in 1992, and her PhD from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1998.

Research and career

Fischer has co-authored over 100

papers Paper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. Paper(s) or The Paper may also refer to: Publishing and academia * Newspaper, a periodical publication * ''Paper'' (magazine), an American monthly fashion and culture magazin ...

on dwarf stars and sub-stellar mass objects in the galactic neighborhood, including many on extrasolar planets. Her work "The Twenty Five Year Lick Planet Search" is summarized in a paper by Fischer, Marcy & Spronck 2014. She is a principal investigator with the N2K Consortium searching for

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

s. She co-leads the planet search team with

Gregory P. Laughlin Gregory P. Laughlin is an American astrophysicist who is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Yale University. As a researcher, he is interested in hydrodynamic simulations, the characterization of extrasolar planets and planet-forming envir ...

and Jessi Cisewski looking for

extrasolar planet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

s. She was the primary investigator for Chiron, the CTIO High Resolution Spectrometer. In 2011, she started the Fiber-optic Improved Next-generation Doppler Search for Exo-Earths with the Planetary Society, an instrument that will help planet hunters find Earth-like extrasolar planets.

Honors and awards

* Elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2020 * 2021 class of Fellows of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

. *Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Debra Living people American women astronomers Discoverers of exoplanets Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Yale University faculty San Francisco State University alumni University of Iowa alumni University of California, Santa Cruz alumni Planetary scientists Women planetary scientists Fellows of the American Astronomical Society Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1951 births

Education

Research and career

Honors and awards

See also

References