Kerstin Perez is an Assistant Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned her B.A. in physics from Columbia University in 2005. She received her Ph.D. from Caltech in 2011, for research using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. She then returned to Columbia University as an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow. In 2015, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Physics at Haverford College, before joining MIT as an Assistant Professor of Physics in 2016. She has won numerous awards, including a Sloan Research Fellowship, Cottrell Scholar Award, and MIT School of Science Teaching Prize for Undergraduate Education.
Professor Perez is interested in using cosmic particles to look for beyond the Standard Model physics, in particular evidence of dark matter interactions. Her work focuses on opening sensitivity to unexplored cosmic signatures, with impact at the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics, and advanced instrumental techniques.
Perez is an advocate for improved diversity in science, and supports students from underrepresented groups to study and research physics. She is concerned that women and people of color often carry an unnecessary burden in the scientific workplace. She is involved with public engagement through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, supporting their massive open online course in electricity and magnetism.