Vera (Cooper) Rubin (born 23 July 1928) is an astronomer who has done pioneering work on galaxy rotation rates. Her discovery of what is known as "flat rotation curves" is the most direct and robust evidence of dark matter.

She holds a B.A. from Vassar College (1948), M.A. from Cornell University (1951), and a Ph.D. from Georgetown University (1954), as well as numerous honorary degrees and awards. Rubin is currently a research astronomer at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. So far she has co-authored 217 peer reviewed research papers.

All four of her children have earned Ph.D.s in the natural sciences or mathematics.

Honors

• Henry Norris Russell Lectureship in 1994
• Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1996
• Bruce Medal in 2003
• James Craig Watson Medal in 2004

See also

• Galaxy rotation problem

External links

• Astronomical Society of the Pacific: Women in Astronomy (http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/womenast_bib.html)
• Lake Afton Public Observatory: Women in Astronomy (http://webs.wichita.edu/lapo/wia.html)
• Astrophysics Data System (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html) - NASA's astronomy abstract service lists all peer reviewed astronomy publications.