The Einstein Society Gala is the largest fundraising event for the Museum; without it, the Museum would not be able to provide the educational programs it conducts for thousands of students each year.

Dr. Lisa Randall has been named the recipient of the 2012 National Award of Nuclear Science and History, which is presented annually by National Atomic Museum Foundation to a prominent person that has had an impact on nuclear issues. The award will be presented at the 15th annual Einstein Society Gala on March 17, 2012.

Dr. Randall is an American theoretical physicist and a leading expert on particle physics and cosmology. She is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University, where she works on several of the competing models of string theory in the quest to explain the fabric of the universe. Her most well-known contribution to the field is the Randall-Sundrum model, first published in 1999 with Raman Sundrum.

This will be the fifteenth year the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History has bestowed the award. The award celebrates the wide scope of achievement and commitment to furthering scientific endeavor made by individuals in areas of military leadership, medical technology, public policy and government, energy sciences, education and space exploration. Dr. Randall was the first tenured woman in the Princeton University physics department and the first tenured female theoretical physicist at MIT and Harvard University. In 2007, Randall was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People (Time 100) under the section for "Scientists & Thinkers." Randall was given this honor for her work regarding the evidence of a higher dimension. Randall is the author of “Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World”, which is available for sale in the Museum’s store.

Honorees become members of the International Advisory Council to the museum. Past honorees include:

 Dr. Glenn Seaborg, former head of the Atomic Energy Commission, co-discoverer of Plutonium, and medical and nuclear researcher
 Dr. David Kuhl, inventor of Positron Emission Tomography (PET), a medical scanning technology that led to broad application of nuclear medical imaging technology
 Richard Rhodes, the author of twenty-one books including “The Making of the Atomic Bomb”, which won a Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, a National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award

“We are extremely proud to recognize the contributions of Dr. Randall,” said Jim Walther, Museum Director. “Her work has posited numerous intriguing insights into the world of the cosmos and is recognized as some of the very best in her field.”

The Einstein Society Gala evening includes dinner and dancing as well as a silent auction.

Tickets are $125; table sponsorships are also available. For information, contact Charles Lowery, Director of Development, at 505-245-2137, extension 110.