Sarah Shandera

Sarah Shandera is a Professor of Physics at Pennsylvania State University and Director of the Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos. She holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University (2006) and a B.S. from the University of Arizona (2001). Her research focuses on gravitational physics, cosmology, and quantum systems, particularly exploring how quantum phenomena like open quantum systems and dissipative dark matter relate to early-universe dynamics. She has pioneered work on gravitational wave signatures of subsolar-mass black holes and the interplay between quantum information and cosmological evolution.

Shandera has received the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Award (2020) and the C.I. Noll Teaching Award (2019). She has been a Visiting Fellow at the Perimeter Institute since 2015 and holds a Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Award (2005). Her research group investigates dark matter interactions, quantum thermodynamics, and non-equilibrium systems. She collaborates with institutions like LIGO/Virgo on gravitational wave analyses and leads the CMB-S4 consortium’s efforts to constrain primordial gravitational waves.

Her lab and team include assistant Courtney L. Shaffer, and she actively contributes to initiatives addressing systemic inequities in academia through models like RASE (2021).