Laura Ferrarese facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Ferrarese
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Born |
Padua, Italy
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Nationality | Italian and Canadian |
Awards | Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada; Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal; Helen Sawyer Hogg Prize; Peter G. Martin Award |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University University of Padua |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Astronomy |
Institutions | California Institute of Technology Rutgers University National Research Council of Canada |
Main interests | Supermassive Black Holes; Galaxy Dynamics; Extragalactic Distance Scale |
Laura Ferrarese is a brilliant scientist who studies space. She works as a researcher in space science at the National Research Council of Canada. Her most important work uses information from the amazing Hubble Space Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Laura Ferrarese was born in Padua, a city in Italy. She went to the University of Padova to study. Later, she earned her PhD in physics from Johns Hopkins University in 1996.
After finishing her studies, she worked at the California Institute of Technology. Then, in 2000, she became a professor at Rutgers University. In 2004, she moved to the National Research Council (Canada). She is now a main research officer there. In 2017, she also worked as the temporary director of the Gemini Observatory for a while.
Exploring the Universe: Laura's Research
Laura Ferrarese's work has given her the chance to lead projects using big telescopes. These include the Hubble Space Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.
Her main focus is on huge objects called supermassive black holes. She studies how big they are and how they affect the stars around them in galaxies. She also looks at how galaxies move and grow. Another part of her research is figuring out how fast the Universe is expanding.
To do her research, Laura uses data from telescopes on Earth and in space. These include the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT).
She has written many scientific papers. These papers have been used by other scientists over 20,000 times! This shows how important her work is in the world of astronomy.
Laura is also a vice president of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). She helps guide the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope as a board member. From 2012 to 2014, she was the president of the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA). She has also served on other important boards in astronomy.
Sharing Knowledge: Teaching
Laura Ferrarese has taught students at several universities. These include the University of Victoria, Rutgers University, and the Universitá di Padova. She also taught at a special school about relativity and gravity.
Awards and Recognition
Laura Ferrarese has received many awards for her amazing work. In 2012, she won the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal. She also received the Helen Sayer Hogg Prize in 2014. In 2015, she won the Peter G. Martin Award.
In 2020, she was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. This is a very high honor for Canadian scientists.
Laura was even featured on a TV show! In 2000, she appeared in an episode of the Horizon TV series. The episode was all about "supermassive black holes."
See also
In Spanish: Laura Ferrarese para niños
- List of women in leadership positions on astronomical instrumentation projects