Laura Ferrarese facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Ferrarese
FRSC
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Padua, Italy
|
| 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 at the National Research Council of Canada. Her main work involves using information from amazing telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.
Contents
Laura Ferrarese's Early Life and Career
Growing Up and Studying
Laura Ferrarese was born in Padua, a city in Italy. She went to the University of Padova to study. Later, she earned a special degree called a PhD in physics from Johns Hopkins University in 1996.
Her Journey in Science
After her PhD, Laura Ferrarese became a Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology. This is a special research position. In 2000, she became a professor at Rutgers University. Then, in 2004, she moved to the National Research Council (Canada). There, she is now a Principal Research Officer, which means she leads important research projects. From July 2017, she also worked for 16 months as the Interim Director of the Gemini Observatory.
What Laura Ferrarese Researches
Studying Black Holes and Galaxies
Laura Ferrarese's work has allowed her to lead projects using big telescopes. These include the Hubble Space Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. She mostly studies huge objects called supermassive black holes. She also looks at how these black holes affect the galaxies they live in.
Her research also covers other exciting topics. She studies active galactic nuclei, which are very bright centers of some galaxies. She also looks at how galaxies move and grow. Another area of her work is measuring distances in space and how fast the Universe is expanding.
Tools for Her Research
To do her work, Dr. Ferrarese uses data from many observatories. Some are on Earth, and some are in space. These include the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT).
Her Impact in Science
Laura Ferrarese has written many scientific papers. According to a science database, she has published 177 papers that have been mentioned by other scientists over 20,000 times! This shows how important her work is to the world of astronomy.
Leading in Astronomy
Dr. Ferrarese is a leader in the astronomy community. She is currently a vice president of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). She also serves on the board of directors for the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. From 2012 to 2014, she was the president of the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA). She has also held other important roles, like being on the board of directors for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).
Teaching and Sharing Knowledge
Laura Ferrarese has shared her knowledge by teaching at several universities. She has taught at the University of Victoria, Rutgers University, and the Universitá di Padova. She also taught at the SIGRAV School on Contemporary Relativity and Gravitational Physics.
Awards and Recognition
Laura Ferrarese has received many awards for her amazing work. In 2012, she was given the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal. She also won the Helen Sawyer Hogg Prize in 2014 and the Peter G. Martin Award in 2015. In 2020, she was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. This is a very high honor for Canadian scientists.
In November 2000, she was even featured on a TV show! She appeared in an episode of the Horizon TV series called "supermassive black holes."
Her Connections in Science
Laura Ferrarese is an active member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). She is part of different groups within the IAU that focus on telescopes, data, and galaxies. She is also a member of the American Astronomical Society and the Canadian Astronomical Society.
See also
In Spanish: Laura Ferrarese para niños
- List of women in leadership positions on astronomical instrumentation projects
