The Lightest Element at Hampstead Theatre

Join Harvard Griffin GSAS alumni and friends at the Hampstead Theatre on October 9 for The Lightest Element, an enthralling play vividly portraying the life of extraordinary Harvard Griffin GSAS alumna Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, PhD ’25—one of the most eminent astronomers of the 20th century.

British-born Payne-Gaposchkin was the first woman to earn a PhD in astronomy at Harvard, to be promoted to full professor from within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and to head a department at the University. She developed her passion for the sciences at St. Paul’s Girls’ School in west London and later at Cambridge University. As Cambridge University did not grant degrees to women in those days, she secured grants to move to the US for a graduate fellowship at the Harvard College Observatory. Despite her successes, she suffered numerous indignities including the rejection of her groundbreaking dissertation. Eventually, the dissertation, which outlined the makeup of stellar atmospheres and proved the prevalence of hydrogen in the universe, was hailed by leading scientists as “undoubtedly the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy.”

6:30 p.m. – Check-in and reception
7:00 p.m. – Welcome remarks
7:30 p.m. – Performance of The Lightest Element
Approximately 9:10 p.m. – Private talk with Director Alice Hamilton following the performance

Event Cost:

Harvard Griffin GSAS alumni and dues-paying members of the Harvard Club of the United Kingdom: £50/US$65**
Harvard alumni, members of the Harvard community, and guests: £60/US$75**

**transaction will be in US dollars

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