Don Figer
Director of Center for Detectors
Don Figer
Director of Center for Detectors
Education
BA, Northwestern University; MS, University of Chicago; Ph.D., University of California
Bio
Don Figer is Professor in the College of Science and Founder and Director of the Rochester Imaging Detector Laboratory, Center for Detectors, and the Future Photon Initiative at RIT. He previously was co-founder and Director of the Independent Detector Testing Laboratory at the Space Telescope Science Institute where he led a team to do the competitive characterization of prototype infrared detectors for the James Webb Space Telescope. He has been PI on dozens of observational astrophysics and instrumentation development programs. Dr. Figer studies massive stars, young star clusters, and the Galactic center. He identified the Pistol star as one of the most massive known. He made the first direct measurement of an upper limit to the masses of stars and has discovered more evolved massive stars and massive star clusters in the Galaxy than any other researcher. Dr. Figer has authored 300 publications with over 8,500 citations and has an h-index of 48.
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Currently Teaching
In the News
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December 14, 2022
![three people standing next to a telescope in a lab.]()
RIT researchers receive NSF funding to further develop infrared detectors for astrophysics
The National Science Foundation will award Don Figer, director of RIT’s Center for Detectors and the Future Photon Initiative, more than $315,000 over the next year to continue work on a grant to provide the astronomy community with a new family of detectors that have very large formats, very low cost, and state-of-the-art performance.
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November 22, 2022
![Various components and wiring of the detectors used for project]()
RIT astrophysicists leverage cancer center to damage single-photon CMOS detectors for future space missions
A recent trip to a cancer center in Boston helped astrophysicists from RIT's Center for Detectors reach a key milestone in their mission to develop advanced CMOS image sensors for future NASA space missions.
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August 5, 2022
![Student and professor in lab, looking at computer screen]()
RIT student Lazar Buntic awarded NASA FINESST graduate student fellowship
RIT student Lazar Buntic received a earned a graduate research fellowship through the Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology program to develop infrared detectors for next generation telescopes.
