ARCS Scholar Alum and 2017 Hall of Fame Inductee Christopher Stubbs has recently been appointed Dean of Science at Harvard University after years of serving on Harvard’s faculty as a professor and chair of the Physics Department.

Dr. Stubbs is an experimental physicist whose research interests lie at the intersection of gravitation, particle physics and cosmology. He has tested the foundations of gravity on laboratory, solar system and cosmic scales. Additionally, Dr. Stubbs was a member of one of the two teams that detected the accelerating expansion of the Universe. This discovery of the “Dark Energy” has been recognized by the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the Gruber Prize in Cosmology, and has profoundly impacted how we study physics. Using gravitational microlensing, Dr. Stubbs has also established the most stringent limits to date on dark matter.

Prior to joining the faculty at Harvard University, Dr. Stubbs was engaged in the construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), an 8.5 meter telescope with an unprecedented 3.2 billion pixel camera that is on track to begin operation in 2020. Currently, Dr. Stubbs also serves as an advisor to the US government on technical issues that pertain to national security, and is an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Stubbs says of his Scholar Award, “The ARCS award I received at the University of Washington came at a pivotal time in my life. That recognition of my graduate work gave me the confidence and impetus to forge ahead with a career in science, and to take on high-risk projects. The generosity of the ARCS donors also had a substantial financial impact on our young family, for which I am most grateful!”