Sara Seager

Sara Seager is a professor of planetary science and a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been a pioneer in the vast world of exoplanets, planets that orbit stars other than the sun. Her ground-breaking research ranges from the study of exoplanet atmospheres to innovative theories about life on other worlds to development of novel space mission concepts. Now, like an astronomical Indiana Jones, she’s on a quest after the field’s holy grail -- the discovery of a true Earth twin.

Professor Seager earned her PhD from Harvard University and is now holds the Class of 1941 Professorship at MIT. She is on the advisory board for Planetary Resources and the Rosalind Franklin Society. Professor Seager is the recipient of numerous academic awards including the 2012 Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences and she has been frequently recognized in the media including in TIME magazine's 25 Most Influential in Space in 2012.