Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. Originally from East L.A., Dr. Prescod-Weinstein is a graduate of Harvard College, University of California–Santa Cruz, and the University of Waterloo. One of under 100 Black American women to earn a PhD from a department of physics, she is a theoretical physicist with expertise in particle physics, cosmology, and astrophysics, with an emphasis on dark matter. In addition, Dr. Prescod-Weinstein is a theorist of Black feminist science, technology, and society studies, and a monthly columnist for New Scientist. Her research and advocacy for marginalized people in physics and astronomy have won multiple awards, and her first book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred, is now available from Bold Type Books. Publishers Weekly describes the book as “a resonant paean to the beauties of the cosmos and a persuasive appeal for solutions to injustices in science.”

Sponsored by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, the First-Year Writing Seminar Program, and the Vassar First-Year Program.

About the William Starr Lecture: Vassar’s annual Starr lecture, which is part of the College’s First-Year Program, is designed to bring a distinguished author to campus to speak to first-year students about the writing life.