Sara Seager is a 2025 NOMIS Awardee, professor of physics, professor of planetary science, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, and the Class of 1941 Professor Chair at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, US. She is leading the project From Lab to Cosmos: Rethinking Habitability and the Search for Life Beyond Earth.
Born in Canada, Seager received a BSc in the Math and Physics Specialist Program at the University of Toronto. In 1999 she earned her PhD in astronomy at Harvard University, Cambridge, US, after which she joined the cadre of postdoctoral fellows at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. Following four years at the Carnegie Institute for Science in Washington, DC, Seager joined MIT in 2007 as associate professor, becoming professor of planetary science and professor of physics in 2010, Class of 1941 Professor Chair in 2012, and professor of aeronautics and astronautics in 2017.
Research Focus
A world-renowned astrophysicist, Seager is a pioneer in exoplanet research — planets orbiting stars other than the sun. Her groundbreaking work on exoplanet detection and characterization, including the development of transit transmission spectroscopy to study exoplanet atmospheres, has transformed the field and laid the foundation for today’s search for signs of life on exoplanets.
She has directed the design and implementation of space missions, including novel mission concepts for future exploration. She was the deputy science director of the MIT-led NASA Explorer-class mission TESS; was principal investigator of the JPL-MIT CubeSat ASTERIA; is a lead of the Starshade Rendezvous Mission, a space-based direct imaging exoplanet concept under technology development to find a true Earth analog orbiting a sun-like star; and most recently leads a team exploring whether the Venus atmosphere can support life.
Awards and Recognition
Seager’s research achievements have earned her numerous awards and honors, including a MacArthur Fellowship, membership in the US National Academy of Sciences, appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada, and the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, and Asteroid 9729 Seager is named in her honor. She is the author of The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir.
Feature images: Seager portrait courtesy of Sara Seager; center photo by JAXA; right photo by NASA