Risa Wechsler
Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology; Professor, Physics Department, Stanford University
Research Focus
Research Interests
About Risa
Risa Wechsler is the Director of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology and a Professor of Physics at Stanford University and of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Dr. Wechsler’s research combines numerical simulations and modeling with data from large galaxy surveys to understand understand the formation of cosmic structure, the physics of galaxy formation, and the nature of dark energy and dark matter. She has played a leadership role in surveys that map the universe; she is a founding member of the Dark Energy Survey and the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration, and was the founding co-Spokesperson for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Collaboration. Wechsler is passionate about broadening access to physics and astronomy and about engaging the public with scientific discovery, and has written about and discussed science in numerous public venues including TED, Teen Vogue, and the BBC.
Honors
2022 - Distinguished Alumni, University of California Santa Cruz
2020 - Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
2020 - Gregory Amadon University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, Stanford
2017 - Fellow, American Physical Society
2003-2006 - Hubble Fellow
Education
Postdoc
Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 09/2003 - 08/2006
Physics, University of Michigan, 09/2001 - 08/2003
Ph.D.
Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, 06/2001
Bachelor's
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 06/1996
