DR. AOMAWA SHIELDS - Astronomer, Astrobiologist, Actor, & Author

Dr. Aomawa Shields is an astronomer, astrobiologist, classically trained actor, writer, and Clare Boothe Luce Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. An expert on the climate and habitability of Earth-size planets orbiting low-mass stars, she is at the forefront of research on exoplanet atmospheres, climate modeling, and the search for life beyond Earth. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation CAREER award, NASA’s Habitable Worlds and Exoplanets Research Programs, and the Heising-Simons Foundation. A Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences and a 2015 TED Fellow, Dr. Shields also received the 2025 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), one of the nation’s highest honors for early-career researchers.

Dr. Shields’ path to success has been anything but conventional. One of the few Black women in a predominantly white, male field, she was the 126th Black woman to earn a PhD in physics and astronomy. She initially left science after facing discouragement, pursuing a career in acting before ultimately returning to complete her doctorate. Her journey, along with her commitment to equity and inclusion in STEM, has been featured in books such as Changing the Equation and The Portfolio Life.

In her Distinguished Speaker Series appearance, she weaves together excerpts from her memoir with her groundbreaking research, offering a powerful, multidimensional perspective on discovery, both in the cosmos and within ourselves.

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