Museum Spaces: Connecting to the Cosmos

Dr. Evalyn Gates

Evalyn Gates is the executive director and chief executive officer of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. She previously served as the assistant director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, an internationally renowned research center for the study of the structure, composition and evolution of the universe from the earliest moments of cosmic history to the present.

As part of the leadership team at the Kavli Institute, Gates has been responsible for the overall management of the center and its key programs, including the prestigious KICP Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. She is also a member of the research faculty in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, with an active program of research in cosmology and particle astrophysics. Prior to joining the Kavli Institute, Gates spent seven years in senior management roles at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum.

Gates' book, Einstein's Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe, was published in 2009 and gives non-scientists a comprehensive look at recent developments that have overturned the understanding of the fundamental nature of the universe and describes the radical new technique that may lead the way to the next great revolution in science.

Gates received her Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1990, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University before joining the University of Chicago in 1992. She also holds two bachelor's degrees - in physics from The College of William and Mary and in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve.