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About

S. C. Trager is a leading figure in astronomical instrumentation, whose career has been defined by a singular focus on enabling transformative wide-field spectroscopy. Trager’s primary research area is the development of precision fiber-positioning technology for next-generation multi-object spectrographs, with their most significant contributions centered on the WEAVE instrument for the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). As a key architect of WEAVE’s fiber positioner, Trager has been instrumental in solving the complex engineering challenge of accurately placing over 1,000 optical fibers across a 2-degree field of view. Their work spans the entire lifecycle of the project, from early conceptual designs and algorithms to the final assembly, metrology, and rigorous testing of the completed system. The foundational papers on WEAVE’s fiber positioning concept and algorithms have garnered over 20 citations, establishing the technical blueprint for the instrument. Trager’s most notable achievement is the successful delivery of the WEAVE fiber positioner, a critical component that enables the spectrograph to simultaneously observe nearly a thousand celestial objects. This work has provided the astronomical community with a powerful new tool for large-scale surveys, cementing Trager’s reputation as a master of precision instrumentation.