# Dimitar Sasselov Phillips Professor of Astronomy Director, Origins of Life Initiative ![Dimitar Sasselov](/sites/g/files/omnuum9161/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/exoplanets/files/sasselov.jpg?itok=Cp8wKLk0) location\_on 52 Oxford Street, B416 (Lab) 60 Garden Street, P-336 (Office) smartphone [(617) 495-7451]() laptop\_windows [Professional Website](https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~sasselov/) laptop\_windows [Origins of Life Initiative](https://origins.harvard.edu/) laptop\_windows [Research Website](https://sasselov.cfa.harvard.edu/) *Research Interests:* Professor Sasselov studies, among other things, extrasolar planets, and he's a co-investigator on NASA's Kepler mission, which is monitoring 100,000 stars in a three-year hunt for exoplanets -- including Jupiter-sized giants. Sasselov watches for exoplanets by looking for transits, the act of a planet passing across the face of its star, dimming its light and changing its chemical signature. This simple, elegant way of searching has led to a bounty of newly discovered planets. - ## Research Roles [All](/research-roles/all) [Scientists](/research-roles/scientist)