University of Chicago (MS) Donald F. Figer is an American astronomer and a professor in the College of Science of the Rochester Institute of Technology.

[10][3] Figer was the Principal Optical Designer for the Near Infrared Echelle Spectrograph (NIRSpec) for the Keck II Telescope while at UCLA.

He and his team used this instrument to take infrared spectra of a massive obscured star cluster located in Antennae Galaxies,[11] estimate the mass of the supermassive black hole located at the Galactic center,[12] and survey the organic volatile species in comet C/1999 H1 (Lee),[13] among many other projects.

[1][3] Figer has professional training in project management, technical presentations, and principles of optical systems layout.

The New York Post story says Figer "asked his ex not to rush to vaccinate their young daughter, saying there hadn’t been any studies conducted on the long-term side effects, according to court papers."

Monroe county Supreme Court Justice Richard Dollinger was later quoted that he is “somewhat perplexed that an accomplished scientist and professor would oppose a child vaccine authorized by the CDC, and universally encouraged by state and local physicians, and other health officials.” Figer has published over 200 papers, having over 5,000 citations, and has been a referee for multiple prestigious journals, including Nature, Science, Astronomy & Astrophysics and Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.