Speaker Series
Would We Know Life if We Saw It?
Date+Time
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The MƒA Thursday Think Speaker Series brings accomplished speakers who dive into cutting-edge topics in STEM education to MƒA. These talks, held once a month throughout the school year, invite MƒA teachers and the general public to learn and engage with these thought leaders and professionals in mathematics, science, and education.
Over the last few decades, scientists have found thousands of planets beyond our own. Some of those planets might be habitable, and perhaps even inhabited already; but how can we tell? Dr. Clara Sousa-Silva looks for signs of life on other planets using astronomical tools such as spectroscopy to detect the faint signals emitted by potential alien biospheres. In this Thursday Think talk, Dr. Sousa-Silva will answer the question, “Would we know life if we saw it?” drawing on her experience investigating peculiar molecules on foreign planets, such as the possibility of phosphine on Venus and through her collaborations with students of all ages.
Dr. Clara Sousa-Silva is a quantum astrochemist at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. She investigates how molecules interact with light so they can be detected on faraway worlds. Dr. Sousa-Silva spends most of her time studying molecules that life can produce so that one day she can detect an alien biosphere. When she is not deciphering exoplanet atmospheres, she is working hard to persuade the next generation of scientists to become an active part of the astronomical community. Dr. Sousa-Silva holds a doctoral degree in quantum chemistry from the University College London, and a master’s degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Among her many achievements, Clara is the recipient of the prestigious 51 b Pegasi Fellowship from the Heising Simons Foundation. The fellowship supports the growing field of planetary astronomy and exceptional postdoctoral scientists who make unique contributions to the field of astronomy. Dr. Sousa-Silva’s work and commentary have been featured in the BBC, WIRED, and the New York Times, among others. Prior to joining the Center for Astrophysics, Clara served as a research scientist at MIT.