Women in Science and Engineering at Yale (2020 Edition)

Priyamvada Natarajan, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Astronomy and Department of Physics

Priyamvada Natarajan’s research in astrophysics focuses on gravitational lensing, clusters of galaxies, black hole physics, binary black holes, and issues in galaxy formation, as well as in the history and philosophy of science. Her approach involves answering fundamental questions of astrophysics by generating new ideas and methods to both compare and confront theoretical models with empirical data. She uses model-building to understand these phenomena, while also validating models with empirical data and simulation analyses. She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles, and is a book author and published poet. She has earned numerous awards and is an elected fellow of multiple scientific societies. She teaches courses in astronomy and physics, and is involved in science communication and outreach. She is committed to institutional changes to improve equity and inclusion, and has engaged in advocacy work towards parity for all genders in academia.

Hubble Space Telescope image of the lensing galaxy cluster MACSJ1206. The inset shows the derived detailed spatial distribution of dark matter — the heaped mountain range dotted with small peaks. The Hubble image reveals lensing features on large, distorted arcs (produced by dark matter) and the event produced by smaller-scaled dark matter clumps (shown in the thumbnail images). HST Image Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Caminha (University of Groningen), M. Meneghetti (Observatory of Astrophysics and Space Science of Bologna), P. Natarajan (Yale University), and the CLASH team. Inset Image Credit: P. Bergamini (INAF-Observatory of Astrophysics and Space Science of Bologna) and the CLASH-VLT/ZOOMING teams.