Debra Fischer

Fischer received her degree in nursing from the University of Iowa in 1975, a masters of science in physics from San Francisco State University in 1992, and her PhD in astrophysics from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1998.{{Cite web |last=Avitia |first=Claudia |date=2022-03-03 |title=Debra Fischer On Scientific Culture and Life On Other Planets |url=https://1400degrees.org/insight/debra-fischer-on-scientific-culture-and-life-on-other-planets/ |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=1400 Degrees |language=en-US}}{{cite web| title = Radcliffe Institute Guest Lecturer Bio| url = http://www.radcliffe.edu/research/2006fischer.aspx| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090312010408/http://www.radcliffe.edu/research/2006fischer.aspx| archivedate = 12 March 2009 | accessdate =4 February 2008}}{{cite web|title=Interview with D. Fischer, Planet-Hunter|publisher=theWoman Astronomer |url=http://www.womanastronomer.com/dfischer.htm |date=1 January 2008|accessdate=4 February 2008}}

Fischer has co-authored more than 300 papers on dwarf stars and exoplanets. In two papers with Jeff Valenti,{{cite web|title= DR. JEFF VALENTI|url=https://webb.nasa.gov/content/meetTheTeam/people/valenti.html}} she quantified a correlation between the chemical composition of host stars and the formation of orbiting gas giant planets.{{cite journal| title=The Planet-Metallicity Correlation| bibcode=2005ApJ...622.1102F| url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005ApJ...622.1102F/abstract| last1=Fischer| first1=Debra A.| last2=Valenti| first2=Jeff| journal=The Astrophysical Journal| date=2005| volume=622| issue=2| page=1102| doi=10.1086/428383}}{{cite journal |title= Spectroscopic Properties of Cool Stars (SPOCS). I. 1040 F, G, and K Dwarfs from Keck, Lick, and AAT Planet Search Programs|bibcode=2005ApJS..159..141V |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005ApJS..159..141V/abstract |last1=Valenti |first1=Jeff A. |last2=Fischer |first2=Debra A. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series |date=2005 |volume=159 |issue=1 |page=141 |doi=10.1086/430500 }} She led the N2K Consortium with Gregory P. Laughlin, detecting dozens of exoplanets around metal-rich stars at Keck Observatory, Subaru Observatory, and the Magellan Observatory.{{cite web|title=N2K Consortium | url=http://exoplanets.astro.yale.edu/science/n2k.php | accessdate=5 March 2018|work=Yale astronomy}} Her work "The Twenty Five Year Lick Planet Search" is summarized in a 2014 paper.{{cite journal |title= The Twenty-five Year Lick Planet Search |bibcode=2014ApJS..210....5F |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014ApJS..210....5F/abstract |last1=Fischer |first1=Debra A. |last2=Marcy |first2=Geoffrey W. |last3=Spronck |first3=Julien F. P. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series |date=2014 |volume=210 |issue=1 |page=5 |doi=10.1088/0067-0049/210/1/5 |arxiv=1310.7315 }} In 2015, she organized an international workshop on Extreme Precision Radial Velocities at Yale University{{cite web|title = The Extreme Precision Radial Velocities Workshop| date=13 July 2015 |url = https://astrobites.org/2015/07/13/the-extreme-precision-radial-velocities-workshop/}} and led the conference proceedings paper with 55 co-authors.{{cite journal|title = State of the Field: Extreme Precision Radial Velocities |bibcode=2016PASP..128f6001F |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016PASP..128f6001F/abstract |last1=Fischer |first1=Debra A. |last2=Anglada-Escude |first2=Guillem |last3=Arriagada |first3=Pamela |last4=Baluev |first4=Roman V. |last5=Bean |first5=Jacob L. |last6=Bouchy |first6=Francois |last7=Buchhave |first7=Lars A. |last8=Carroll |first8=Thorsten |last9=Chakraborty |first9=Abhijit |last10=Crepp |first10=Justin R. |last11=Dawson |first11=Rebekah I. |last12=Diddams |first12=Scott A. |last13=Dumusque |first13=Xavier |last14=Eastman |first14=Jason D. |last15=Endl |first15=Michael |last16=Figueira |first16=Pedro |last17=Ford |first17=Eric B. |last18=Foreman-Mackey |first18=Daniel |last19=Fournier |first19=Paul |last20=Fűrész |first20=Gabor |last21=Gaudi |first21=B. Scott |last22=Gregory |first22=Philip C. |last23=Grundahl |first23=Frank |last24=Hatzes |first24=Artie P. |last25=Hébrard |first25=Guillaume |last26=Herrero |first26=Enrique |last27=Hogg |first27=David W. |last28=Howard |first28=Andrew W. |last29=Johnson |first29=John A. |last30=Jorden |first30=Paul |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |date=2016 |volume=128 |issue=964 |doi=10.1088/1538-3873/128/964/066001 |arxiv=1602.07939 |display-authors=1 }} With the Oxford Zooniverse team, Fischer co-founded the Planet Hunters Citizen Science project.{{Cite web |date=20 February 2018 |title=AAS Names Debra Fischer as Kavli Foundation Plenary Lecturer |url=https://aas.org/press/aas-names-debra-fischer-kavli-foundation-plenary-lecturer}}

Fischer has worked on instruments to improve measurement sensitivity for the detection of exoplanets. In 2011, she started the Fiber-optic Improved Next-generation Doppler Search for Exo-Earths with the Planetary Society, an improvement that helped planet hunters find smaller, more Earth-like extrasolar planets.{{Cite web |title=Alpha Centauri Planet Search |url=https://www.planetary.org/sci-tech/alpha-centauri-planet-search |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=The Planetary Society |language=en}} In 2014, she worked with colleagues at Yale University on a microcomb for precise wavelength calibration.{{Cite web| url=https://opg.optica.org/abstract.cfm?uri=cleopr-2015-27D2_5 | title=Red, Blue, Infrared Frequency Comb Generation | date=24 August 2015 | pages=27D2_5 }} She was the principal investigator for three spectrographs: CHIRON, the CTIO High Resolution Spectrometer,{{cite web|title=MRI: Development of Chiron: CTIO High Resolution Spectrometer |work=Research Commercialization and SBIR Center |publisher=San Francisco State University |url=http://center.ncet2.org/index.php?option=com_patents&controller=awards&tmpl=component&view=awards&layout=award&frame=awards&user=6344&id=18369_nsf |accessdate=27 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302211652/http://center.ncet2.org/index.php?option=com_patents&controller=awards&tmpl=component&view=awards&layout=award&frame=awards&user=6344&id=18369_nsf |archivedate=2 March 2014 }} VUES, the Vilnius University Echelle Spectrograph {{cite journal |title=Design and Construction of VUES: The Vilnius University Echelle Spectrograph |bibcode=2016JAI.....550003J |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016JAI.....550003J/abstract |last1=Jurgenson |first1=Colby |last2=Fischer |first2=Debra |last3=McCracken |first3=Tyler |last4=Sawyer |first4=David |last5=Giguere |first5=Matt |last6=Szymkowiak |first6=Andrew |last7=Santoro |first7=Fernando |last8=Muller |first8=Gary |journal=Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation |date=2016 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=1650003–1650239 |doi=10.1142/S2251171716500033 |arxiv=1601.06024 }} and EXPRES, the EXtreme PREcision Spectrograph.{{cite journal|title= EXPRES: a next generation RV spectrograph in the search for earth-like worlds|bibcode=2016SPIE.9908E..6TJ |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016SPIE.9908E..6TJ/abstract |last1=Jurgenson |first1=C. |last2=Fischer |first2=D. |last3=McCracken |first3=T. |last4=Sawyer |first4=D. |last5=Szymkowiak |first5=A. |last6=Davis |first6=A. |last7=Muller |first7=G. |last8=Santoro |first8=F. |editor-first1=Christopher J. |editor-first2=Luc |editor-first3=Hideki |editor-last1=Evans |editor-last2=Simard |editor-last3=Takami |journal=Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VI |date=2016 |volume=9908 |pages=99086T |doi=10.1117/12.2233002 |arxiv=1606.04413 }}{{cite journal| title= EXPRES. I. HD 3651 as an Ideal RV Benchmark |bibcode=2020AJ....160...67B |last1=Brewer |first1=John M. |last2=Fischer |first2=Debra A. |last3=Blackman |first3=Ryan T. |last4=Cabot |first4=Samuel H. C. |last5=Davis |first5=Allen B. |last6=Laughlin |first6=Gregory |last7=Leet |first7=Christopher |last8=Ong |first8=J. M. Joel |last9=Petersburg |first9=Ryan R. |last10=Szymkowiak |first10=Andrew E. |last11=Zhao |first11=Lily L. |last12=Henry |first12=Gregory W. |last13=Llama |first13=Joe |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=2020 |volume=160 |issue=2 |page=67 |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/ab99c9 |doi-access=free |arxiv=2006.02303 }}{{cite journal |title= EXPRES. II. Searching for Planets around Active Stars: A Case Study of HD 101501|bibcode=2021AJ....161...26C |last1=Cabot |first1=Samuel H. C. |last2=Roettenbacher |first2=Rachael M. |last3=Henry |first3=Gregory W. |last4=Zhao |first4=Lily |last5=Harmon |first5=Robert O. |last6=Fischer |first6=Debra A. |last7=Brewer |first7=John M. |last8=Llama |first8=Joe |last9=Petersburg |first9=Ryan R. |last10=Szymkowiak |first10=Andrew E. |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=2021 |volume=161 |issue=1 |page=26 |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/abc41e |doi-access=free |arxiv=2010.14717 }}{{cite journal|title=EXPRES. III. Revealing the Stellar Activity Radial Velocity Signature of ϵ Eridani with Photometry and Interferometry |bibcode=2022AJ....163...19R |last1=Roettenbacher |first1=Rachael M. |last2=Cabot |first2=Samuel H. C. |last3=Fischer |first3=Debra A. |last4=Monnier |first4=John D. |last5=Henry |first5=Gregory W. |last6=Harmon |first6=Robert O. |last7=Korhonen |first7=Heidi |last8=Brewer |first8=John M. |last9=Llama |first9=Joe |last10=Petersburg |first10=Ryan R. |last11=Zhao |first11=Lily L. |last12=Kraus |first12=Stefan |last13=Le Bouquin |first13=Jean-Baptiste |last14=Anugu |first14=Narsireddy |last15=Davies |first15=Claire L. |last16=Gardner |first16=Tyler |last17=Lanthermann |first17=Cyprien |last18=Schaefer |first18=Gail |last19=Setterholm |first19=Benjamin |last20=Clark |first20=Catherine A. |last21=Jorstad |first21=Svetlana G. |last22=Kuehn |first22=Kyler |last23=Levine |first23=Stephen |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=2022 |volume=163 |issue=1 |page=19 |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/ac3235 |doi-access=free |arxiv=2110.10643 }}{{cite journal|title= EXPRES. IV. Two Additional Planets Orbiting ρ Coronae Borealis Reveal Uncommon System Architecture|bibcode=2023AJ....166...46B |last1=Brewer |first1=John M. |last2=Zhao |first2=Lily L. |last3=Fischer |first3=Debra A. |last4=Roettenbacher |first4=Rachael M. |last5=Henry |first5=Gregory W. |last6=Llama |first6=Joe |last7=Szymkowiak |first7=Andrew E. |last8=Cabot |first8=Samuel H. C. |last9=Weiss |first9=Sam A. |last10=McCarthy |first10=Chris |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=2023 |volume=166 |issue=2 |page=46 |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/acdd6f |doi-access=free |arxiv=2306.06888 }}

Fischer and colleagues{{cite web|title= Jessi Cisewski Kehe|url= https://www.jjckehe.com/}}{{cite web|title=Eric Ford |url=https://cpest.psu.edu/people/people-ford-eric/}}{{cite web|title= Lily Zhao, Ph.D.|work=Simons Foundation |url=https://www.simonsfoundation.org/people/lily-zhao/}} have also helped to advance statistical and machine learning methods to improve data analysis and sensitivity to low mass planets. Fischer served as the Division Director at the National Science Foundation from 2021 - 2023.{{cite web|title= Appointment of Division Director, Division of Astronomical Sciences - Debra Fischer| date=29 January 2025 |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=303594&org=AST}}

When Fischer discovered the first multiple planet system in 1999, she contributed to the acknowledgement of planet formation by using an analysis that identified and collaborated the impact of structures of planets and their gas giants and even the chemical composition of host stars.{{Cite web |title=Debra Fischer Curriculum Vitae Jan 2012 |url=https://people.earth.yale.edu/sites/default/files/fischer_cv_jan2012.pdf}}{{Cite web |title=Debra Ann Fischer |url=https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/debra-ann-fischer-qjffud/ |website=National Academy of Sciences}}

Fischer also created a project called [https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/nora-dot-eisner/planet-hunters-tess planethunters.org], which helped with her and her organization with planet detection. According to Fischer, her "Planet Hunters" project was based on the [https://kepler-project.org/ Kepler Project], further resulting her and her group's expectations of their project to exceed successfully.{{Cite web |title=Kepler Will Make Us All Planet Hunters |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/telescopes/a11911/kepler-will-make-us-all-planet-hunters-10555405/ |website=Popular Mechanics|date=11 July 2012 }}

• 1993 Graduate Student Fellowship, NSF
• 1994 Marilyn C. Davis Scholarship, UCSC
• 1997 California Space Grant, NASA
• 2002 Carl Sagan Award, American Astronautical Society
• 2004 Benjamin Dean Lecturer, California Academy of Science
• 2004 Professional Astronomer for the Communication of Science, Amateur Astronomer Society of Northern California
• 2005-2007 Cottrell Science Scholar
• 2009 Radcliffe Institute Fellow: Sept 2009 – June 2010
• 2010 Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
• 2012 Elected Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences{{cite web| title=Debra Ann Fischer |date=6 June 2024 |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/debra-ann-fischer}}
• 2016 Hall of Fame Inductee the San Francisco State University{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8dyxX1P2cc&t=58s |title=Debra Fischer - 2016 Hall of Fame Inductee |date=2016-12-14 |last=San Francisco State University |access-date=2024-11-17 |via=YouTube}}
• 2020 Elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society{{cite web|url=https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/aas-fellows|title=AAS Fellows|publisher=AAS|accessdate=27 September 2020}}
• 2021 class of Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science{{cite web|url=https://www.aaas.org/page/2021-fellows|title=2021 Fellows|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|access-date=2022-01-30}}
• 2021 Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences{{Cite web|title=2021 NAS Election|url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2021-nas-election.html|access-date=23 May 2021|website=www.nasonline.org}}

{{Reflist}}

- https://www.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/alumni/made-in-the-csu/san-francisco/Pages/fischer.aspx#:~:text=In%20recognition%20of%20her%20pioneering,and%20the%20Cottrell%20Scholar%20program

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87yX6Ukd2OU&list=TLPQMTQxMTIwMjTwHj5ZsdJJ4w&index=4

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVsbqZZRjjQ {{Portal bar|Biography|United States|Astronomy|Stars|Spaceflight|Outer space|Solar System|Science}}

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