How much have you done in your life so far? That wouldn’t be a fair question to ask if you were to be compared to Sabrina Pasterski, who at only 24 years of age has a standing offer from NASA and is cited by Stephen Hawking and Andrew Strominger.
Born in Chicago in 1993, the Cuban-American girl is “the youngest person to build an airplane, certify it as airworthy, and then conduct their first U.S. solo in that same aircraft.” She built that aircraft at the age of 14. Now 24, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in high energy physics at Harvard University.
Her advisor, Andrew Strominger, and Stephen Hawking have already cited her research on black holes, spacetime, and quantum gravity and she has been dubbed the “new Einstein” by many.
With her interest and knowledge in the field, Sabrina is thought to be the one who will help advance space travel. Designing spacecraft has been something she has always been interested in. In fact, she currently has standing job offers from NASA, Jeff Bezos, and Blue Origin, an aerospace and development company.
However, her success didn’t come as easy as you may think. At first, Pasterski was rejected from Harvard and she was waitlisted at MIT before she was eventually accepted, with the help from Harvard Nobel Laureate Professor Lene Hau. With her hard work and genius mind, she excelled at MIT with the highest of honors and got accepted to the prestigious Harvard Ph.D. program.
During the course of her research and work, she has given the world some fascinating publications, talks, and documentaries, which currently count at 29. She has received 22 honors and awards, the most notable being the Hertz Foundation’s $250,000 fellowship and a $150,000 fellowship with the National Science Foundation.
Sabrina is also a certified solo pilot, a FAA Light Sport Aircraft Manufacturer, and she owns her own Sabrina Aircraft Manufacturing, based in Chicago, Illinois. She also owns an MIT Pirate’s License (that is, she is proficient in sabrе, sailing, pistol, and archery).
What she doesn’t own, though, is a social media account. Sabrina has chosen to live without Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other social media platform. In fact, she doesn’t even own a smartphone. She avoids drinking and smoking and has never tried either.
However, she does have her own website PhysicsGirl, which is constantly updated with her last achievements, publications, and talks. There, you can read her resume and catch up with her work.
Sabrina Pasterski is truly a fascinating person to behold and be inspired by. However, her words are humble when it comes to the admiration of many: “I am just a grad student. I have so much to learn. I do not deserve the attention.”
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