Stony Brook University Professor Neelima Sehgal has been named a 2025 Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). The APS Fellowship honors members for significant contributions to physics, including original research, innovation in applying physics to science and technology, advancements in teaching, and service to the society.
“I am deeply grateful for this recognition from my APS colleagues, and delighted to join the distinguished group of Stony Brook Physics and Astronomy faculty who are APS fellows,” said Professor Sehgal.
Sehgal specializes in theoretical and observational cosmology. Her work focuses on understanding fundamental aspects of the universe such as dark matter, dark energy, its origins, and particle composition. She uses data from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), which provides information from nearly 14 billion years ago. For about twenty years, she analyzed CMB data collected by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope in Chile. Currently, she is involved with the Simons Observatory project that will continue gathering data for another decade. Sehgal also leads the proposed CMB-HD experiment—a next-generation observatory designed to map dark matter at small scales and study the universe’s thermal particle content.
“My sincere congratulations to Professor Neelima Sehgal on this truly significant achievement,” said David Wrobel, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Her pioneering work on a cosmic microwave background observatory is pivotal in expanding our understanding of the fundamental physics of the Universe. We are fortunate and proud to have such an exceptional theoretical and observational cosmologist working to advance our university and the frontiers of science.”
Sehgal received her undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics from Yale University before earning her PhD at Rutgers University. She completed postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University and Princeton University prior to joining Stony Brook University in 2012.
Stony Brook University is recognized as New York’s flagship public university with more than 26,000 students enrolled. It is part of the State University of New York system and holds membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU), placing it among leading research institutions in North America. The university manages several large-scale research initiatives including co-managing Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy—one of only eight universities involved with national laboratories—and was recently named anchor institution for The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island.