# Annette Ferguson

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{{Short description|Scottish observational astrophysicist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}

{{Infobox scientist
| honorific_prefix  = 
| name              = Annette Mairi Nelson Ferguson
| honorific_suffix  = [FRSE](/source/FRSE)
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| birth_place       = [Dumbarton](/source/Dumbarton), [Scotland](/source/Scotland)
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| fields            = [Physics](/source/Physics)<br/>[Astrophysics](/source/Astrophysics)
| workplaces        = [University of Edinburgh](/source/University_of_Edinburgh)<br/>[Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik](/source/Max-Planck-Institut_f%C3%BCr_Astrophysik)<br/>[Kapteyn Astronomical Institute](/source/Kapteyn_Astronomical_Institute)<br/>[Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge](/source/Institute_of_Astronomy%2C_Cambridge)
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| alma_mater        = [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto)<br/>[Johns Hopkins University](/source/Johns_Hopkins_University)
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| awards            = [Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy](/source/Annie_J._Cannon_Award_in_Astronomy) (2003)<br/>Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award<br/>[Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh](/source/Fellowship_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh) (2016)<br/>[Alexander von Humboldt Foundation](/source/Alexander_von_Humboldt_Foundation) (2017)
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| website           = https://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/people/annette-ferguson
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}}

'''Annette Mairi Nelson Ferguson''' [FRSE](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh) is a [Scottish](/source/Scotland) observational astrophysicist who specialises in the area of [galaxy](/source/galaxy) evolution. She is a professor at the [Institute for Astronomy, Edinburgh](/source/University_of_Edinburgh_School_of_Physics_and_Astronomy),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rse.org.uk/fellow/annette-ferguson/|title=Professor Annette Mairi Nelson Ferguson FRSE - The Royal Society of Edinburgh|work=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|access-date=2018-06-17|language=en-GB}}</ref> and holds the Personal Chair in Observational Astrophysics at the [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh](/source/School_of_Physics_and_Astronomy%2C_University_of_Edinburgh).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Annette Ferguson - Edinburgh Research Explorer|url=https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/annette-ferguson(92dfecb4-63fc-4fbf-8c89-3d0871406a3f).html|access-date=2020-08-16|website=www.research.ed.ac.uk}}</ref>

== Career ==
Ferguson's research focuses on conducting observations of [star](/source/star)s and [interstellar gas](/source/interstellar_gas) in nearby galaxies to gain insights into the formation and evolution of systems in the [Milky Way](/source/Milky_Way). Much of her recent work has focused on the [Andromeda Galaxy](/source/Andromeda_Galaxy), a giant spiral galaxy in our galactic neighbourhood.

Her research exploits ground-based [telescope](/source/telescope)s in the [Canary Islands](/source/Canary_Islands), [Chile](/source/Chile), and [Hawaii](/source/Hawaii) as well as sophisticated instruments on board the [Hubble Space Telescope](/source/Hubble_Space_Telescope). Ferguson is also involved in planning for future exploitation of data collected by the [European Space Agency](/source/European_Space_Agency)'s [Euclid](/source/Euclid_(spacecraft)) mission, and the [Vera C. Rubin Observatory](/source/Vera_C._Rubin_Observatory), which is currently under construction in Chile.

Originally from [Scotland](/source/Scotland), Ferguson graduated with a [BSc](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) with Distinction in [Physics](/source/Physics) and Astronomy from the [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto), and obtained a [PhD](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy) in [Astrophysics](/source/Astrophysics) from the [Johns Hopkins University](/source/Johns_Hopkins_University) in [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore%2C_Maryland).

She has previously held postdoctoral fellowships at the [Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge](/source/Institute_of_Astronomy%2C_Cambridge), the [Kapteyn Astronomical Institute](/source/Kapteyn_Astronomical_Institute) in [Groningen](/source/Groningen_(city)), [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands), and was a [Marie Curie](/source/Maria_Sklodowska-Curie) postdoctoral fellow at the [Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik](/source/Max-Planck-Institut_f%C3%BCr_Astrophysik) in [Garching](/source/Garching), [Germany](/source/Germany).<ref>{{cite web | last = Ferguson | first = Annette | title = Personal Web Page | url = http://www.roe.ac.uk/~ferguson | access-date = 2007-11-09 }}</ref>

Ferguson returned to Scotland in 2005, taking up a Lectureship at [The University of Edinburgh](/source/The_University_of_Edinburgh),<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-03-24|title=Professor Annette Mairi Nelson Ferguson FRSE|url=https://www.rse.org.uk/fellow/annette-ferguson/|access-date=2020-08-16|website=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|language=en-GB}}</ref> before being promoted to a Readership in 2007, and a Professorship in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Professor Annette Ferguson|url=https://ddi.ac.uk/women-in-data/professor-annette-ferguson/|access-date=2020-08-16|website=DDI|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Honours ==
Ferguson received the [Annie J. Cannon Award](/source/Annie_J._Cannon_Award_in_Astronomy) in 2003, and was elected a Fellow of the [Royal Society of Edinburgh](/source/Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh), Scotland's National Academy for Science and Letters, in March 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/1200_2016ElectedFellows.html|title=Fellows - The Royal Society of Edinburgh|work=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008113046/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/1200_2016ElectedFellows.html|archive-date=8 October 2016|language=en-GB|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017 she received the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from the [Alexander von Humboldt Foundation](/source/Alexander_von_Humboldt_Foundation).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/alexander-von-humboldt-foundation-award-17-03-10|title=Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Award {{!}} School of Physics and Astronomy|website=www.ph.ed.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-06-17}}</ref>

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Annette}}
Category:Living people
Category:Scottish astronomers
Category:British women astronomers
Category:Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century Scottish women scientists
Category:21st-century Scottish scientists
Category:Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Category:University of Toronto alumni
Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Category:People from Dumbarton

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Annette Ferguson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Ferguson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Ferguson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.