Dr. Becky Thompson
Chief Science and Education Officer

Becky Thompson leads the Science Center’s Science & Education team, which includes galleries, exhibits, community science, collections, the Youth Exploring Science Program and more.

Becky joined us in 2024 from the Fermi National Accelerator Lab, where she served as the Head of Education and Public Engagement.

After receiving her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Austin, she joined the staff of American Physical Society where she led their public engagement efforts for 11 years. While there she authored the popular Spectra, The Laser Superhero series of physics comic books. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the Sigma Xi honors society. Her first book, Fire, Ice, and Physics; The Science of Game of Thrones, was released in October 2019.

Becky was recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science