The Cosmos Club is honored to present The 2008 Cosmos Club Award to Vera Rubin.
As an observational astronomer second to none in the world, she revolutionized mankind’s understanding of nature by discovering that it contains ten to hundreds of times more invisible “dark matter” than the more familiar universe of stars and galaxies, and by providing the sole hard evidence for its existence. Hers is the magic touch that leads her time and again off the beaten path, to discoveries that break new ground, astonish colleagues and laymen, and inspire whole new fields of investigation and discovery.
Vera Rubin has earned the highest awards and honors that are available to astronomers. She received the nation’s highest recognition to a scientist-the National Medal of Science-in addition to other awards, she is an academician of the National Academy of Sciences and international counterparts, and she received honorary doctorates from Princeton and other universities.
Dr. Rubin has blazed a trail for the pursuit of academic excellence and achievement. Even more, she has been a strong and tireless advocate for the greater participation of women in science. Her example has inspired a literal “rainbow coalition” of young people to work and succeed in the largely white male world of the physical sciences, and she gives freely of herself as a mentor and friend to many. Among her greatest accomplishments, she raised four children who all are now in successful academic careers of their own.
The significance of Vera Rubin’s contributions continues to grow and will serve to underpin the next revolution in our understanding of the cosmos.
