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Don Figer

PBS News published an article by RIT's Don Figer, professor in the College of Science and director of the Center for Detectors, about NASA's newly launched Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Figer's column, which explains that images captured by the telescope will help researchers trace how the universe evolved over time, was originally published in The Conversation.

The Conversation features an essay by Don Figer, professor in the College of Science and director of RIT's Center for Detectors, explaining how NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope combines repurposed spy technology with sophisticated infrared detectors to study dark matter, distant galaxies, supernovas and planets.

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, featured research by Don Figer, professor in the College of Science and director of RIT's Center for Detectors, on next-generation photon detectors designed to help future space telescopes search for habitable exoplanets.

Numerous members of the RIT community will participate in exploring the universe during the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) fourth cycle, set to begin in early July.

The center is working to advance and characterize single-photon sensing CMOS image sensors to determine if they can survive the harsh radiation environments in NASA missions. A successful image was recently captured, providing a milestone in the project.

RIT's Center for Detectors has been chosen by NASA for two research programs: Early Stage Innovations (ESI) and Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT), with the hope of helping future spacecraft find new discoveries in the vast universe.

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.

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.

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.

Worldwide experts will soon gather at RIT to discuss the central role photonics plays in advancing quantum technologies. RIT and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, are partnering to host the Photonics for Quantum 2022 event June 6-9 at the RIT campus.

ASRAS's March 4, 2022, monthly meeting featuring Don Figer, director of Center for Detectors in the College of Science. During March's meeting, Figer discussed The James Webb Space Telescope and the role of technology in astrophysics.

WROC-TV talks to Don Figer, director of the Center for Detectors, about his work on the James Webb Space Telescope.