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When Cynthia Wyeth Peterson ’54 first joined the faculty at the University of Connecticut in 1968, she was the only woman teaching in the physics department. It would remain that way until 2002.

She was an energetic presence in the department, serving as the second director of the university’s planetarium, the first in the state, which opened in 1954. Peterson also led the construction of a state-of-the-art observatory. According to the Hartford Courant, when the observatory opened in 1980, the new telescope enabled detailed observation of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn as well as the planets of Neptune and Pluto.

Peterson taught astronomy and used the buildings for outreach events, including a summer camp. Her research spanned astronomy, chemistry, and biophysics. She was a mentor to many women studying science. When she retired in 2016, colleagues joked that it took hiring three people to replace her.

Assistant Professor in Residence Matt Guthrie started working at the university in 2020, the same year Peterson passed away. He never met her, but "from what I heard, her passion was infectious,” he says. 

Following Peterson’s retirement, the planetarium closed and fell into disrepair.

Guthrie led an effort to remodel both the observatory and planetarium and have them named in honor of Peterson. The observatory reopened last year, and the was reopened on Friday. Nov. 1 with a ceremony attended by more than 100 people.

“I felt like it was important to reopen,” Guthrie says. “And as part of this, I wanted to make sure that this incredible woman in STEM was recognized for all of her efforts and contributions.”

Historically, Bryn Mawr has been among the top schools including both liberal arts and research-level universities, for producing physics graduates and generating a pipeline into graduate physics work or physics/science related fields outside of academia.

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