Rate My Professor Sarah Seager

Sara Seager is returning to her alma mater, the University of Toronto, as North Star Distinguished Professor at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA), with a start date of September 1, 2026. She holds cross-appointments in the Departments of Physics and Chemistry and the David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics. Seager earned a BSc in the Math and Physics Specialist Program from the University of Toronto in 1994 and a PhD in Astronomy from Harvard University in 1999. Prior to her appointment at U of T, she served as Professor of Planetary Science, Professor of Physics, and Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she held the Class of 1941 Professorship. Her earlier positions include postdoctoral work at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and senior research staff at the Carnegie Institution for Science.

Seager is a leading researcher in exoplanet atmospheres and the search for biosignatures, with foundational contributions to the detection and characterization of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. She served as Deputy Science Director for the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission and has led studies on starshade technology for direct imaging of Earth-like exoplanets. Her work extends to missions investigating Venus’s atmosphere for potential signs of life. Among her honors are the 2024 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, the 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2020, and election to the National Academy of Sciences. She received an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Toronto in 2023. Seager has authored textbooks and numerous influential papers on exoplanet science, including a major review article in 2010, and continues leadership roles in space mission concepts and interdisciplinary research programs.

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