Ep 38: Exploring Exoplanets
Synopsis
Astrophysics Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University Lindsey Wiser joins the podcast to discuss planets in other solar systems, and throughout the cosmos. These planets are referred to as exoplanets! Latter portions of the episode are focused on Space Policy and Space outreach/engagement!
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Meet the Guest Star
Lindsey Wiser
Lindsey Wiser is a Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University in Astrophysics, where she studies the atmospheres of planets in other solar systems, called exoplanets. She is also active in space and science policy.
Lindsey grew up in the California Bay Area before moving to Maryland for her undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University. She started in mechanical engineering, and after an internship at the space telescope science institute, she added a second major in Earth and Planetary Science. Throughout undergrad, she also interned at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Aerospace Industries Association, and NASA Headquarters. She helped lead a university chapter of SEDS, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, and a Design, Build, Fly club building remote-controlled airplanes for a yearly competition. In 2019, she was awarded the Brooke Owens Fellowship for gender minorities in aerospace.
In 2020, Lindsey started her Ph.D. at Arizona State University. She studies the compositions and climates of exoplanet atmospheres and works with data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the newly launched JWST. The big questions she asks are: How do planets form? And what are the climates of diverse planets like?
On top of her science research, Lindsey thinks a lot about space and science policy. She has written about planetary protection, international space governance, tracking output from space missions, and more. She leads the US Task Force for Space Policy and Advocacy through the Space Generation Advisory Council, SGAC, which is a global network of young professionals. The US Task Force is a team of space enthusiasts promoting policy perspectives from the young generation for the US context.
In her free time, Lindsey enjoys getting outside and traveling, Formula 1, and caring for her cat and plants.
