Lisa Randall
She was the first woman to be tenured in the physics department at Princeton University and the first female theoritical physicist to be tenured at Harvard University. Much of her research focuses on the dimensions of space, especially the hidden ones. Her work is interesting because it is a mixture of the scientific and the philosophical. Her published books, are Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions and Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World. Both of them were featured on the New York Times' list of 100 Notable Books of the Year.
In addition to being an accomplished physicist, Randall also has experience in the arts, and her work blends science and art together. She wrote a libretto for Hypermusic: A Projective Opera in Seven Planes that was performed in the Pompidou Center in Paris. Randall also is the co-curator for an art exhibit called Measure for Measure. For her artistic pursuits, she received the Andrew Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics, for the artistic or humanistic depiction of physics.
In addition to being an accomplished physicist, Randall also has experience in the arts, and her work blends science and art together. She wrote a libretto for Hypermusic: A Projective Opera in Seven Planes that was performed in the Pompidou Center in Paris. Randall also is the co-curator for an art exhibit called Measure for Measure. For her artistic pursuits, she received the Andrew Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics, for the artistic or humanistic depiction of physics.
Shirley Ann Jackson
Jackson was the first African-American to receive a doctorate from MIT, and one of the first two African-American women to earn a PhD from an American institution. In 1995, she also became the first African-American women to chair the U.S. Regulatory Commission, and the same year, President Bill Clinton named her as the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Committee.
The 'firsts' just keep on coming. Jackson became the first African-American female president of Renessllaer Polytechnic Institute and the first women to head a top-50 research university. Presently, she serves on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, having been appointed by President Obama.
The 'firsts' just keep on coming. Jackson became the first African-American female president of Renessllaer Polytechnic Institute and the first women to head a top-50 research university. Presently, she serves on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, having been appointed by President Obama.
Lene Vestergaard Hau
A native of Denmark, Hau earned her Ph.D. from the University of Arhus in 1991. She is also fluent in English, German, and French. Hau is known for an extraordinary experiment she performed with Dr. Steve E. Harris of Stanford University and two of her Harvard students. These four scientists were able to slow down the speed of light- a feat previously thought to be impossible. They were able to slow a beam of laser light to 38 miles an hour, while light in a vacuum travels about 186,000 miles per second.
This is all made possible by a 0.1-mm lump of atoms called a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), which is cooled (-459.67 degrees Fahrenheit) in a steel container with tiny windows. Lasers of the right wavelengths can manipulate the optical properties of a BEC, allowing for the total control of any other light shined into it.. Her first trick was slowing a pulse of light to a crawl — 15 mph as it traveled through the BEC. Recently, Hau shot a laser into one BEC and stopped it, which transformed the BEC into a hologram. Then that was transferred into an entirely different BEC located nearby. Just like magic!
This is all made possible by a 0.1-mm lump of atoms called a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), which is cooled (-459.67 degrees Fahrenheit) in a steel container with tiny windows. Lasers of the right wavelengths can manipulate the optical properties of a BEC, allowing for the total control of any other light shined into it.. Her first trick was slowing a pulse of light to a crawl — 15 mph as it traveled through the BEC. Recently, Hau shot a laser into one BEC and stopped it, which transformed the BEC into a hologram. Then that was transferred into an entirely different BEC located nearby. Just like magic!