 She was a recipient of the 2018 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics, presented annually by the American Physical Society and considered one of the most prestigious prizes in physics.Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Nelson earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Stanford University in 1980, and her Ph.D. degree at Harvard University under the supervision of Howard Georgi in 1984.After a post doctoral fellowship at the Harvard Society of Fellows from 1984-1987, Nelson became an assistant professor at Stanford University in 1987.