Lisa Randall

Lisa Randall is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science in Harvard University's Physics Department. She earned a BA in Physics in 1983 and a PhD in Theoretical Particle Physics in 1987, both from Harvard University. Early in her career, she served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory from 1989 to 1990 and as a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows from 1990 to 1991. Randall then held faculty positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, advancing from Assistant Professor (1991–1995) to Associate Professor (1995–1998) and Professor (2000–2001). She was Professor of Physics at Princeton University from 1998 to 2000 before returning to Harvard as Professor of Physics in 2001, assuming her current endowed chair in 2009.

Randall's research in theoretical particle physics and cosmology connects theoretical insights to puzzles in matter properties and interactions. She has developed models involving extra dimensions of space, enhancing understanding of the Standard Model, supersymmetry, baryogenesis, cosmological inflation, and dark matter, with implications for the Large Hadron Collider and dark matter detection. Key publications include 'A Large Mass Hierarchy from a Small Extra Dimension' (1999) and 'An Alternative to Compactification' (1999), which introduced the influential Randall-Sundrum model. Her popular books—Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions (2005), Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World (2011), Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space (2012), and Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe (2015)—have been recognized, with the first two on the New York Times’ list of 100 Notable Books of the Year. Randall has received the J.J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics (2019), Guggenheim Fellowship (2018), Simons Fellowship in Theoretical Physics (2017), Julius Lilienfeld Prize (2007), Andrew Gemant Award (2012), Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, and Department of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator Award. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Philosophical Society, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the American Physical Society. Her work has profoundly influenced particle physics and cosmology.

Professional Email: randall@physics.harvard.edu