This interview is part of PT’s “Black voices in physics” series of Q&As with Black physicists.
Brazilian astrophysicist Marcelle Soares-Santos was recently hired away from Brandeis University to the University of Michigan, where she is now continuing on the tenure track. Her research focuses on uncovering the nature of the accelerated expansion of the universe. In her experience, racism has been subtle but present. These days she’s working to overturn it.
PT: What is the focus of your research?
SOARES-SANTOS: My goal is to understand what causes cosmic acceleration. One possible explanation is that there is an unknown form of energy, dark energy, embedded in the vast empty spaces in the cosmos. My research group uses data—distances and velocities of astronomical objects, including gravitational wave–emitting mergers of neutron stars and black holes—to build a map of cosmic expansion with the goal of discovering the nature of dark energy.
PT: At what stage in your career did you move to the US?
SOARES-SANTOS: I first came as part of a “sandwich” program during my PhD in 2008. I went to Fermilab. I returned to Fermilab for a postdoc in 2010.
PT: How does being a Black woman make a difference for you as a physicist?
SOARES-SANTOS: The perceptions people have of you are affected by biases. How this affects me is hard to know. But I think every time you enter a room or give a lecture or are considered for a leadership role, the biases come in.
I think about this a lot since becoming a principal investigator. I try to make sure that I am aware and do not make decisions based on biases. I am still learning.
PT: How does the situation in the US compare with Brazil?
SOARES-SANTOS: Brazil is very different. There is a much larger population of Black people, and at the same time people identify differently. But the general trends are the same. If you look at the population of university students, only a small fraction of Black people are at the top schools.
PT: Do you see ways to attract more Black students into physics in the US?
SOARES-SANTOS: One thing I have been trying to do is to make sure that in any role where I have the opportunity to make a difference, I do so. After I became a faculty member, I started serving on committees that would admit graduate students and hire postdocs. It was an eye-opener, being on the other side of the table. I know this is a critical point where biases can shut doors.
Small steps are better than no steps, so I proactively offer to go to institutes and encourage people to apply for positions. I try to pay more attention to who is out there, instead of just waiting for applicants to come to us.
Read the other interviews
