Clara Sousa-Silva
51 Pegasi b Fellow
I am a quantum astrochemist and my research focuses on exoplanet spectroscopy and its applications to astrobiology.
My projects all rely on computational chemistry to understand how molecules interact with light, particularly those molecules that may be associated with life: biosignatures. My interests lie in the molecular characterization of exoplanet atmospheres and making astronomy a better community, through effective science communication and by actively involving young people in astrophysics research; currently, I run two large outreach programs, JURA and the Harvard-MIT SRMP. One day, I hope to detect an alien biosphere by collaborating with a large, inclusive and diverse team of scientists.
My favorite molecule is phosphine.
My projects all rely on computational chemistry to understand how molecules interact with light, particularly those molecules that may be associated with life: biosignatures. My interests lie in the molecular characterization of exoplanet atmospheres and making astronomy a better community, through effective science communication and by actively involving young people in astrophysics research; currently, I run two large outreach programs, JURA and the Harvard-MIT SRMP. One day, I hope to detect an alien biosphere by collaborating with a large, inclusive and diverse team of scientists.
My favorite molecule is phosphine.