Preeminent astronomer and Vassar alumna Vera Cooper Rubin, who proved the existence of “Dark Matter”, to discuss her life’s work. Thursday, February 8, 2007

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Among the world's leading astronomers, Dr. Vera Cooper Rubin was credited in the late 1970s with the breakthrough evidence for "dark matter", the physical objects or particles that hold galaxies together. Rubin is a 1948 graduate of Vassar College, where she will discuss "How I Left Vassar and Found Dark Matter: Reflections on Vassar and Astronomy" on Thursday, February 8, at 3:30 p.m., in Sanders Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public, and part of Vassar's celebration of Dr. Rubin as the college's 2007 Distinguished Achievement Award winner, so honored by the Alumnae and Alumni Association of Vassar College (AAVC).

Dr. Rubin is a Senior Fellow in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, where she has worked since 1965. It was her research there in the 1970s on galaxies' rotation properties and outer edges that led her to prove what for decades had only been a theory of celestial "dark matter." Among her numerous honors, Rubin was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, becoming the first woman recipient since 1828.

A member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, as well as the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Rubin has also been awarded numerous honorary degrees, from Harvard University, Yale University, Smith College and other esteemed institutions. After her astronomy degree from Vassar, she earned a M.A. from Cornell University and a Ph.D. from Georgetown University, also in astronomy.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact the Office of Campus Activities at (845) 437-5370. Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential, liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Friday, February 2nd, 2007.