Vera Rubin

Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (; July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studying galactic rotation curves. Her work on the galaxy rotation problem produced the first widely accepted evidence for the existence of dark matter.

Honored throughout her lifetime for her work, she received the Bruce Medal, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the National Medal of Science, among others. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is named in her honor. Her legacy is described by ''The New York Times'' as "ushering in a Copernican-scale change" in cosmological theory. Prominent theoretical physicist Lisa Randall and others have argued that Rubin was neglected for the Nobel Prize, perhaps because she was a woman in science.

Rubin spent her life advocating for women in science, and mentored aspiring female astronomers. Provided by Wikipedia