Chanda Prescod-Weinstein at the Harvard Science Center

Harvard Book Store, the Harvard University Division of Science, and the Harvard Library welcome Chanda Prescod-Weinstein—prize-winning author of The Disordered Cosmos, and an associate professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire—for a discussion of her new book, The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie. She will be joined in conversation by Evelynn M. Hammonds—the Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science, Professor of African and African American Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University. This event will take place at the Harvard Science Center, Hall D, located at 1 Oxford St, Cambridge. Following the presentation will be a book signing.

There are two ticket options available for this event.

1. Free General Admission Ticket: Includes admission for one.
2. Book-Included Ticket: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of The Edge of Space-Time.

Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.

A fresh, charming, socially conscious tour of the mysteries of space-time, from the award-winning author of The Disordered Cosmos.

In her highly acclaimed debut, distinguished cosmologist and particle physicist Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shared with her audience an abiding sense of wonder at the cosmos, while imagining a world without the entrenched injustice that plagues her field. Now, in The Edge of Space-Time, she embraces that cosmic wonder, taking readers on a mind-altering journey to the boundaries of the universe, inviting us to spend time at the edge of what we know about space-time and about ourselves.

Guided by her conviction that for humanity to go forward we must know our cosmic past and drawing on poetry and popular culture—from Langston Hughes, Queen Latifah, and Lewis Carroll, to Big K.R.I.T., Sun Ra, and Star Trek—Prescod-Weinstein renders accessible some of the most abstract concepts of theoretical physics to tell fascinating stories about the history and fundamental nature of our universe. Here we meet the quantum cat that is both dead and alive, learn the difference between dark matter and dark energy, explore the inner workings of black holes, and investigate the possibility of a unified theory of quantum gravity, following our guide out to the far reaches of the cosmic event horizon and down to the tiniest (and queerest) neutrino. Along the way, she calls on us to resist colonial approaches to space exploration and instead imagine a better path forward in our pursuit of humanity’s undeniable connection with the stars.

Through Prescod-Weinstein’s clear-eyed and unique perspective, and informed by her deep knowledge of post-colonial history and Black feminist thought, The Edge of Space-Time argues that physics is an essential way for everyone to look at the universe and presents a compelling case that “the edge” is a powerful vantage point from which to see the big picture.

Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an associate professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. Her research in theoretical physics focuses on cosmology, dark matter, and neutron stars. She is also a researcher of Black feminist science, technology, and society studies. She is also the creator of the Cite Black Women+ in Physics and Astronomy Bibliography. Her first book The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred won the 2021 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the science and technology category, the 2022 Phi Beta Kappa Science Award, and a 2022 PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award. The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie is her second book for general audiences. She is now working on an academic book, The Cosmos is a Black Aesthetic. Originally from East L.A., she divides her time between the New Hampshire Seacoast and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Evelynn M. Hammonds is the Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science, Professor of African and African American Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University. Her research focuses on the history of scientific, medical and socio-political concepts of race, gender and sexuality in the histories of medicine, science and public health in the United States; black feminist and queer theory and the history of disease and race. She also works on projects to increase the participation of men and women of color in STEM fields. She co-authored the National Academy of Science (NAS) report (2021) Transforming Technologies: Women of Color in Tech. Professor Hammonds served on the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine (CWSEM) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) 2018-2024 and currently on the NAS Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine. She has been a member of the Harvard faculty since 2002 where she served as the first Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity and Dean of Harvard College, and chair of the Department of the History of Science from 2017-2022 . She earned her PhD in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. She earned a B.S. in physics from Spelman College, a B.E.E. in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech and the S.M. in Physics from MIT. Prof. Hammonds was a member of the faculty at MIT from 1992 to 2002. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Prof. Hammonds served as president of the History of Science Society (2023-2026). She holds honorary degrees from Bates and Spelman Colleges. For the academic year 2025-2026 Prof. Hammonds was the Interim Chair of Studies in Women, Gender and Sexuality at Harvard.

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.

The Harvard Science Book Talks series is a collaboration between the Harvard University Division of Science, the Harvard Library, and Harvard Book Store. The series features talks by the authors of recently published books on a variety of science-related topics and is open to both the Harvard community and to the general public.

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