Fletcher Waller is first and foremost, a friend. But he also plays the role of a tuba-player, an astrophysicist, a fibre-artist, writer, gardener, cyclist, and lake-enthusiast. Fletcher is guided by living in good company with the land he finds himself on, and the neighbours he meets around him. His favourite places are community centres, the library, the cafe-down-the-road, the park across the street, or any native plant garden.
Born and raised in Lheidli T'enneh territory otherwise known aa Prince George, Fletcher moved to lekwungen and WSANEC territory, so-called 'Victoria' for a university education in 2014, and has since decided to make his home there. Fletcher's parents and grandparents were born on Coast Salish lands. Fletcher's ancestors originate in Ireland, Scotland, and England, and settled in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia in the 1800s and early 1900s.
Coming out as queer as a young adult, Fletcher is the first openly transgender person in his family. He was passionate about advocacy in his field of study, but found it difficult to do so without support from a larger queer community. So since graduating from his Masters of Science in Astronomy, Fletcher has worked to connect himself to the local queer community, specifically volunteering in areas for crafting, multi-disciplinary art, mutual aid, and community programming. In May 2024, Fletcher gave a keynote address at the 2SLGBTQIA+ in STEM conference in Regina, SK, highlighting his astronomy research and also speaking on his experiences as a transgender scientist. In November 2024, Fletcher spoke beside Mayor Alto and MLA Parmar at the Trans Day of Remembrance flag Raising Ceremony at the BC Legislature buildings.
As of fall 2024, Fletcher is searching for employment that will allow him to put his scientific and people skills to use in his community. He is specifically excited by work that will allow him to connect with others. Some fields he is searching for employment in include administration, reception, outreach, data entry, data analysis, laboratory testing, and even brewing and printing. Fletcher values working for local organizations, companies, and non-profits, and one of his biggest priorities is to commute by bicycle.
Fletcher completed a Masters of Science in Astrophysics in April 2024. His research focused on determining the chemical compositions of stars in some of the oldest galaxies. This research was conducted using high-resolution spectroscopy to find the spectral fingerprints of specific elements like iron or calcium. Fletcher's work was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and highlighted stars in a few Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxies in orbit around the Milky Way. These galaxies are of particular interest when investigating what some of the first stars and galaxies looked like, because UFDs are ancient, pristine systems, un-evolved from the early days of the universe. Fletcher also worked on the commissioning of the brand-new, world-class GHOST spectrograph at the Gemini South observatory. He lived in Chile for 6 months, being the first to reduce data from GHOST's first on-sky tests, and helping to prepare the instrument for scientific use.