March 9, 2021

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Harvard Book Store's virtual event series, the Harvard University Division of Science, and the Harvard Library welcomes celebrated cosmologist CHANDA PRESCOD-WEINSTEIN—assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of New Hampshire—for a discussion of her debut book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred. She will be joined in conversation by acclaimed writer KIESE LAYMON, author of How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America and Heavy: An American Memoir.

Details

In The Disordered Cosmos, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shares her love for physics, from the Standard Model of Particle Physics and what lies beyond it, to the physics of melanin in skin, to the latest theories of dark matter—all with a new spin informed by history, politics, and the wisdom of Star Trek.

One of the leading physicists of her generation, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is also one of fewer than one hundred Black American women to earn a PhD from a department of physics. Her vision of the cosmos is vibrant, buoyantly non-traditional, and grounded in Black feminist traditions.

Prescod-Weinstein urges us to recognize how science, like most fields, is rife with racism, sexism, and other dehumanizing systems. She lays out a bold new approach to science and society that begins with the belief that we all have a fundamental right to know and love the night sky. The Disordered Cosmos dreams into existence a world that allows everyone to tap into humanity's wealth of knowledge about the wonders of the universe.

About Author(s)

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. She is also a columnist for New Scientist and Physics World. Her research in theoretical physics focuses on cosmology, neutron stars, and dark matter. She also does research in Black feminist science, technology, and society studies. Nature recognized her as one of 10 people who shaped science in 2020, and Essence has recognized her as one of “15 Black Women Who Are Paving the Way in STEM and Breaking Barriers.”

Kiese Laymon is a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. He is the author of the award-winning memoir Heavy, the groundbreaking essay collection How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, and the genre-defying novel Long Division. Laymon is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair. His work has also appeared in the New York TimesEsquireESPN The MagazineNPRColorlinesThe Los Angeles TimesThe Guardian, and many others in addition to Gawker. A member of Black Artists for Freedom, he was named to the Ebony Magazine Power 100 in 2015 and selected as a member of the Root 100 in 2013 and 2014. He is at work on several new projects including the long poem, Good God; the horror novel, And So On; the children’s book, City Summer, Country Summer; and the personal narrative about family and Mississippi, I Don’t Know What You Mean.