Assistant Professor Alice Pisani has been awarded the COSMOBEST European Grant for Research. The highly prestigious grant, totaling $1.4 million, gives Pisani the opportunity to hire personnel to assist in her research of cosmic voids, Pisani’s area of study. Specifically, she researches what these less dense regions of the galaxy tell us about what our universe is made of and how it evolves. She will use data from the Euclid satellite, the DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) mission, and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in her research. Pisani, who holds a joint faculty appointment in the Physics Department of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering and the Center for Computational Astrophysics of the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute, will be on leave for the duration of the grant, 18 months to two years. 

Barry Shoop, dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering, said, "I have three emotions associated with Alice’s grant: first, I am thrilled that she was able to secure such an important scientific position and funding that will drive her research field forward; second, I am sad that she will be leaving The Cooper Union—but hopefully only for a short time; and third, I am grateful that our students had the opportunity to engage with and benefit from a faculty member the caliber of Alice."

Among those fortunate students is Matthew Leach, a senior studying mechanical engineering. Last July, he traveled with Pisani to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to witness the launch of the Euclid satellite.

"Working with Alice was one of the best opportunities I've had at Cooper to do undergraduate research. Not only is she a great lecturer, she also genuinely cares for her students. Because of Dr. Pisani, I am pursuing a master's degree in physics to continue my research into cosmology."

During her career, Pisani has been a member of the Princeton University Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts and has won the France L'Oreal-Académie des Sciences-UNESCO prize for Women in Science. Dr. Pisani is very interested in developing active teaching methodologies that heavily rely on visualizations and encourages active participation from students.

Matthew Leach added that he's saddened to see her leave Cooper. "But I think I can say on behalf of all of her students that we are happy she has this incredible opportunity to push the boundaries of science along."