Professor Kerstin Perez's academic trajectory began as an undergraduate at Columbia, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 2005. That same year, the Lenfest Award was established by Arts and Sciences to celebrate faculty who demonstrate excellence in research, outstanding teaching, and a commitment to student mentorship.
She returned to Columbia in 2022 as the Lavine Family Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences in the Department of Physics, where her responsibilities have included teaching and mentoring Columbia undergraduates, an experience she knows well. Beyond cultivating young minds, she also carries out experimental research, focusing on the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics, and advanced instrumental techniques, with a particular interest in evidence of dark matter interactions. Currently, she is the deputy principal investigator for the GAPS balloon experiment in Antarctica, which launched in December 2025 with significant funding from NASA.
Her considerable impact and hard work have not gone unnoticed, and the Physics Department is proud to announce that she is one of seven Arts & Science faculty to receive the Lenfest Award for the 2025-2026 academic year. The honor comes with an unrestricted stipend for three years.
In selecting Professor Perez, the Executive Committee of the Arts and Sciences cited the following:
