Scott Gaudi
Astronomy
Exploring New Planets
Gaudi’s work addresses one of humanity’s most fundamental questions: Are we alone in the universe? As a master’s student, he developed a method to detect other solar systems similar to our own—and in the 20 years since then, he’s helped discover more than a dozen planets. In this talk, Gaudi will discuss the methods through which astronomers work to find solar systems with planets like ours. By the end of this decade, a mere 25 years after the fist planet was discovered around another star, we will likely have conclusive estimates of the frequency of Earth-like planets in the universe. As part of his work co-authoring NASA’s roadmap for the future of astrophysics, Gaudi will explain how missions beginning over the next three decades will ultimately enable us to search these Earth-like planets for signs of life.
Gaudi is a professor of astronomy.
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