Rubin, Vera Cooper

Rubin, Vera Cooper (1928–  ) astronomer; born in Philadelphia. Barred from the Princeton astrophysics graduate program, which did not admit women until 1971, she pursued graduate education at Cornell and took a Ph.D. from Georgetown University (1954). Widely traveled, she was at the Carnegie Institute from 1965. In 1981 she became one of 75 women elected to the National Academy of Sciences since its founding in 1863. She found the so-called dark matter that keeps stars from spinning off their galaxies. She lists her four children's Ph.D.'s on her résumé and volunteers her time for lectures and demonstrations to students to encourage their interest in science.