Vera Rubin: The Path to Changing the World

Anya Galvan, Bryan Collegiate High School

“The National Medal of Science award of 1993 goes to a scientist who has pioneered research programs in cosmology and proved to the world that much of the matter in the universe is dark. She leaves a path way for future scientists to continue her research in learning more about the complex and mysterious universe. I am proud to present this award to Vera Rubin!”

Vera felt of a jolt of overwhelming happiness as she heard her name called followed by the roar of applause. Not exactly sure what to do or say at the moment, Vera stood up and thanked those around her. Still in shock, and not fully in control of her emotions, a nicely dressed man approached Vera and lead her to the podium to receive her award. The walk to the front of the room seemed eternal, all Vera could think of was how far she had gotten, she always knew she would do something important with her life, she just never expected to be in that exact position.

Vera was a young child of only 10 years old and had already developed an interest regarding stars and space, but she had never considered a career or future to do with this. One night, Vera was having trouble sleeping, so she snuck into the kitchen for a snack. As Vera was walking through the dark, narrow hall, she saw a bright light coming from the living room. She assumed someone else was up, but the whole house seemed to be dead silent. Vera thought she might sneak up and spook whoever was in the living room, but when she got there, there was nobody. She was not only surprised to learn that there was no one up but also that there was no artificial light turned on. Instead, there was a bright spectacular light seeping in from a narrow gap between the window curtains. Intrigued by the powerful light, Vera walked out into the backyard and instantly became amazed by the view: the vibrant, massive moon in the center of it all, surrounded by glistening stars and a gradient of dark blues and violet shades creating a sense of darkness. Not long after that, stars became her obsession, and from then on, Vera purposely stayed up late every night and spent her time looking out the window, fascinated by all there was to learn.

Towards the end of high, school Vera felt extremely excited to attend college and fulfill her dream to become an astronomer even though she had very minimal knowledge of other astronomers. She had never heard of any astronomer in particular, much less met one. One particularly memorable day, Vera came home from school and found a letter in the mail addressed to her from Vassar, a college of which Vera’s idol, the famous astronomer Maria Mitchell, had previously taught at. Vera rushed inside to open it, her hopes for what the envelope contained made her nervous.

“What is it?” asked her mom.

“It’s from Vassar! It could be one of two things, but I’m not sure I want to open it.” “Come on, why not? What’s the worse it could be?”

“Here, you open it. I’m too nervous!” said Vera.

“No, no, it’s for you. Whatever it is, it will be fine,” assured her mother.

Vera stood there frozen, not able to move, in fear of what the letter contained. Finally, Vera took three deep breaths and began opening the letter, only to find that Vassar College offered her a scholarship to attend school in the fall. She was full of excitement; she wanted to run out and tell the whole world!

The very next day at school, Vera could not stand the excitement, and she went to her physics professor to tell him the great news.

“I was able to get my scholarship to Vassar, Sir! Now I am eligible to go study in the fall! “ Vera nervously stuttered while trying to hide the urge to jump up and down. She had rarely spoken to her teacher outside of class. He had absolutely no idea of Vera’s interest in science or that she strived to become an astronomer. “Isn’t that great?” Vera asked excitedly. “Yes indeed. Very good Ms. Cooper. As long as you stay away from science, you should do okay,” responded her teacher.

Vera felt stunned when she heard what her teacher had to say regarding her future. Speechless, Vera turned around and walked away full of conflicting questions. She had no idea why someone would try to discourage anyone from pursuing a career in anything, no matter the subject. For the rest of the day, Vera simply could not wrap her head around what her teacher told her.

What does that even mean? She thought. Was it because I’m a girl? These questions troubled Vera for a long time to come. Soon after came graduation, and Vera felt more than ready to leave high school behind where apparently people refused to support her career path and continue her journey of knowledge out in the world of intelligent and open people. It thrilled her to think how much more college would impact her because she would learn more about the subjects that fascinated her, side by side with others who thought similarly. Little did she imagine the difficulty of finding more aspiring astronomers with the same goals or even other students that would take her seriously and trust her work.

Life at Vassar proved good for Vera. She learned very much about both herself and astronomy. After all, it had always been her dream school. While studying at Vassar, Vera met a handsome man by the name of Robert. She met him one day while she was sitting at a local coffee shop researching schools she could attend after graduating from Vassar. Vera was sitting by herself at a table near the corner, next to a window of which the bright sun seeped through. When Robert walked in, he saw her sitting alone and was intrigued by how focused she was. He approached her and quietly sat down at her table.

“Hey, can I sit here?” asked Robert.

“Umm sure, why not?” answered Vera as she kept her eyes on her papers. Soon, they began conversing and hit it off. One date became another and soon after that, they began a relationship. Robert was studying to obtain his Ph.D. at Cornell University. He seemed very charming and intelligent. Vera soon fell in love with him. Within a few years, Vera graduated with a bachelor’s in astronomy from Vassar, and he was right there to congratulate her.

Once Vera graduated, Robert took her out to the most beautiful starlit scenery and asked Vera to marry him. At this point, Vera became conflicted. What about my studies? Or my career? Would he expect me to become a housewife? All these questions toppled around and around in her head. Ultimately, Vera made up her mind and decided to listen to her heart and accept.

Vera applied to Harvard and considered Princeton; however, at that time in history, Princeton would not accept women into the prestigious university. This was enraging to hear of. It seemed completely sexist as if women could not be as intelligent and successful as any man.

“Can you believe the audacity of this University? How could they not accept females?” Vera complained angrily.

“Well, they must not have an open mind, but it’s okay! You still got accepted to other universities, didn’t you?” responded Robert, trying to calm Vera down.

“Well, yes. I guess you are right. I do have options. It simply infuriates me to know of such harsh discrimination. I did get accepted to Harvard and also Cornell, and I suppose I could go there.”

“You could go to Cornell with me! It would be perfect. We get married and go study together. I will finish my Ph.D. while you work on your master’s,” suggested Robert.

Vera formally declined her acceptance from Harvard, and in response to her decline she received a letter thanking her for the notice, however, the letter also contained a particular comment along the lines of “Damn you, women. Every time I get a good one ready, she goes off and gets married,” which caused Vera to remember the words her physics teacher told her and the rules at Princeton regarding women. This letter helped her feel much more confident about her decision to go to Cornell even though the astronomy department seemed almost nonexistent. At least there they would not single her out or insult her for being a female scientist.

That same year, they joined in marriage, and Vera accompanied her husband at Cornell to complete her master’s. Vera soon discovered how great the astronomy program was at Cornell, despite only consisting of two people working in the department. By the time Vera birthed her second child, the time to present her thesis on galaxy rotation came. Vera brought up her courage and went into the room to present her thesis. Vera felt intimidated but she reminded herself of the reason she needed to complete this, not only for her passion for her career but also to prove that females could be taken seriously in the world of science.

Unfortunately, after her presentation, journals rejected her essay because of skepticism. This did not discourage Vera. Vera always knew one day she would make a difference. Instead, she worked harder to prove the existence of her work. After she graduated from Cornell, Vera continued her studies in Georgetown to obtain her Ph.D. This, however, was not her biggest accomplishment. Vera became the first woman ever permitted to use the Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory for her research. Vera ultimately proved to the world that dark matter truly existed, even though the world was skeptical at first of both her and dark matter.

Bibliography

Bahcall, Neta A. “Vera Cooper Rubin.” Physics Today, vol. 70, no. 3, Mar. 2017, pp. 73–74. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1063/PT.3.3503. Accessed 23 Jan. 2018.

Domonoske, Camila. “Vera Rubin, Who Confirmed Existence Of Dark Matter, Dies At 88.” NPR, 26 Dec. 2016,

www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/ 12/26/507022497 /vera-rubin-who-confirmed-existence-of-dark-matter-dies-at-88. Accessed 23 Jan 2018.

Lightman, Alan P. “Vera Rubin.” American Institute of Physics, 28 Dec. 2016 www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33963. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

Rogers Brown, Kristin. “Adventures in Feministory.” Bitch Magazine: Feminist Response to Pop Culture, no. 75, Summer 2017, p. 7. EBSCOhost, kidd.blinn.edu: 2048/login?url=http://search.ebsco host. com/log in .aspx direct=true &db=a9h&AN=12306537 4&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed Jan 23 2018.

Popova, Maria. “Pioneering Astronomer Vera Rubin on Women in Science, Dark Matter, and Our Never-Ending Quest to Know the Universe.” Brain Pickings, 27 Dec. 2016, www.brainpickings.org/2016/04/18/vera-rubin-interview-women-in-science. Accessed 22 Jan 2018.

“Profile: Vera Rubin and Dark Matter.” American Museum of Natural History www.amnh.org/explore/resource-collections/cosmic-horizons/profile-vera-rubin-a nd-dark-matter/. Accessed 23 Jan. 2018.

“Vera Rubin (1928 — ).” News — Special Reports — Vera Rubin — National Medal of Science 50th Anniversary I NSF — National Science Foundation, www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/medalofscience50/rubin.jsp. Accessed 13 Feb. 2018.