Sara Seager

Professor Sara Seager is an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She works on exoplanets, planets that orbit stars other than the sun. Her research has introduced many foundational ideas to the field of theory, computation, and data analysis for exoplanet characterization. Her current research focuses on biosignature gases for the search for life on exoplanets. Professor Seager actively works on space telescopes and mission concepts for search for another Earth, including: as the Deputy Science Director for the MIT-led NASA mission TESS; as the PI for the on orbit JPL/MIT CubeSat ASTERIA; and as a lead for Starshade Rendezvous Mission (a space-based direct imaging exoplanet discovery concept under technology development). Among other accolades, Professor Seager is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. Asteroid 9729 Seager is named in her honor.