Sara Seager

Sara Seager
Born	1971 (age 39–40) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Residence	Concord, Massachusetts
Nationality	Canadian-American
Fields	Astronomy, Planetary science
Institutions	Carnegie Institution of Washington
Alma mater	Harvard University Ph.D. University of Toronto B.Sc
Known for	Search for extrasolar planets, TV appearance on Ancient Aliens
Notable awards	Helen B. Warner Prize (2007) Harvard Bok Prize in Astronomy (2004) NSERC Science and Technology Fellowship (1990 - 1994)
Spouse	Michael I. Wevrick

Sara Seager (born 1971) is a Canadian-American astronomer who is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and known for her work on extrasolar planets. She was born in Toronto, Canada. In 1994, she earned the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Toronto. In 1999, Seager was granted a Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University. Her doctoral thesis explored atmospheres on extrasolar planets.^[1]

Sara Seager used the term "Gas Dwarf" for a high mass super earth type planet composed mainly of Hydrogen and Helium in an animation of one model of the exoplanet Gliese 581 c. The term "gas dwarf" has also been used to refer to planets smaller than gas giants, with thick hydrogen and helium atmospheres.^[2][3] NASA's PlanetQuest referred to her as "an astronomical Indiana Jones".^[4]

Academic positions

• Ellen Swallow Richards Associate Professor of Planetary Science, MIT, January 2007–
• Senior Research Staff Member, Carnegie Institution of Washington, August 2002–December 2006
• Long-term Member, Institute For Advanced Study, March 2001–August 2002
• Member, Institute For Advanced Study, September 1999–March 2001

Accomplishments

• Helen B. Warner Prize from the American Astronomical Society (2007)^[5] for developing "fundamental techniques for understanding, analyzing, and finding the atmospheres of extrasolar planets
• The Fifth Annual Brilliant 10 by Popular Science (2006)^[6] for her work in developing simulations has given scientists new tools for helping visualize what foreign planets may look like.
• The Harvard Bok Prize in Astronomy (2004)^[7]

Books and media

• Deming, D., & Seager, S. eds. 2003, "Scientific Frontiers in Research on Extrasolar Planets", ASP Conf. Ser. 294 (San Francisco: ASP)

Sara has appeared extensively on the pseudo-scientific Discovery Channel program, Ancient Aliens. On Sara's blog she claims these cameo appearances "aim to set the record straight"^[8]. Whilst her pieces to camera do not explicitly endorse the hypothesis of the program (that civilization has been shaped by visitations by extraterrestrials in ancient times), her contributions provide support for many fringe science concepts by implying connections between the fringe idea and legitimate scientific concepts. For example, her cameo explaining maglev trains is juxtaposed with suggestions that megalithic monuments were constructed in prehistory using magnetic anti-gravity.

References

1. ^ Thesis Thesis (PhD). Harvard University
2. ^ Of Gas Dwarfs and Waterworlds, Celestia forum, Jun 15, 2004
3. ^ StarGen - Solar System Generator, 2003
4. ^ Rodriguez, Joshua (October 3, 2008), On a quest for astronomy's holy grail, NASA PlanetQuest, http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/news/seager.cfm 
5. ^ Helen B. Warner Prize Helen B. Warner Prize from the American Astronomical Society
6. ^ Fifth Annual Brilliant 10 Popular Science
7. ^ Harvard Bok Prize in Astronomy
8. ^ http://seagerexoplanets.mit.edu/radio.htm

External links

• MIT Home page
• Thirteen.org
• Talk of Sara Seager at the Origins 2011 congress

Persondata
Name	Seager, Sara
Alternative names
Short description	Canadian astronomer
Date of birth	1971
Place of birth	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date of death
Place of death