Oct 11, 2026 · 8 min · 7 segments
**Billions Of Galaxies, A New Generation: Who Gets To Solve The Universe?** - As NASA looks deeper into dark matter and dark energy, astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance is asking a different…
I think that as humans, it is sort of part of our DNA to explore and to reach out into the universe.
And I think that it's so important for us to better understand the universe in which we live.
For her, the future of astrophysics isn't just about better telescopes, but who gets the chance to manage them? Plenty of kids and teens are fascinated by space, but many rule themselves out because they think they're not smart enough.
Most of my life, I didn't think that a career in astronomy was for someone like me, and someone who is not inherently good at physics or math.
I am a woman of color, and I felt really out of place in science and math growing up, and honestly, to this day.
For many years, Elbadri Nance felt like she wasn't capable and didn't belong in this field and specialty.
When I saw that I was struggling in math and that I was struggling in science, I thought that was just because I wasn't meant for it.
But despite that, I had, you know, a community.
I had mentors like my dad, my astronomy teacher in high school and teachers.
my research advisors in college and grad school who really cultivated my passion for the universe and allowed me to really hone my technical skills to be able to continue on.
Looking back, she's thankful for the people who believed in her when she didn't even believe in herself.
This support network also helped her deal with the lack of representation she saw around her.
Last I checked, astronomy is 30% women and physics is far less.
I think it's something like 15%.
In many of my classes in college, I was one of the only women, if not the only woman of color in the class.
And these are classes of 50 to 100 people.
So it's really isolating, lonely, and challenging to be that only person who feels like...
Maybe they don't belong there.
And I've had to fight that feeling and redefine what it means for me to exist in a space that historically was not created for someone like me.
It's harder to head into a challenging field like astrophysics when there's no one around who looks or talks like you.
When we think of famous scientists or famous mathematicians, or if you Google science or math, you end up looking primarily at white men.
And even to this day, that's sort of the demographic that you'll find.
And so...
I think that as humans, it is sort of part of our DNA to explore and to reach out into the universe.
And I think that it's so important for us to better understand the universe in which we live.
For her, the future of astrophysics isn't just about better telescopes, but who gets the chance to manage them? Plenty of kids and teens are fascinated by space, but many rule themselves out because they think they're not smart enough.
Most of my life, I didn't think that a career in astronomy was for someone like me, and someone who is not inherently good at physics or math.
I am a woman of color, and I felt really out of place in science and math growing up, and honestly, to this day.
For many years, Elbadri Nance felt like she wasn't capable and didn't belong in this field and specialty.
When I saw that I was struggling in math and that I was struggling in science, I thought that was just because I wasn't meant for it.
But despite that, I had, you know, a community.
I had mentors like my dad, my astronomy teacher in high school and teachers.
my research advisors in college and grad school who really cultivated my passion for the universe and allowed me to really hone my technical skills to be able to continue on.
Looking back, she's thankful for the people who believed in her when she didn't even believe in herself.
This support network also helped her deal with the lack of representation she saw around her.
Last I checked, astronomy is 30% women and physics is far less.
I think it's something like 15%.
In many of my classes in college, I was one of the only women, if not the only woman of color in the class.
And these are classes of 50 to 100 people.
So it's really isolating, lonely, and challenging to be that only person who feels like...
Maybe they don't belong there.
And I've had to fight that feeling and redefine what it means for me to exist in a space that historically was not created for someone like me.
It's harder to head into a challenging field like astrophysics when there's no one around who looks or talks like you.
When we think of famous scientists or famous mathematicians, or if you Google science or math, you end up looking primarily at white men.
And even to this day, that's sort of the demographic that you'll find.
And so...
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