James Michelin Distinguished Visitors Program

Dr. Aomawa Shields will read from her memoir, Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe. After the reading, audience members will have an opportunity to engage in a Q&A with Dr. Shields moderated by Dr. Susanne Hall, Teaching Professor of Writing and Director of the Hixon Writing Center.

Dr. Shields is an astronomer, an astrobiologist, the Clare Boothe Luce Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, and a classically-trained actor. At UC Irvine, Dr. Shields leads a team of researchers and educators at the Shields Center for Exoplanet Climate and Interdisciplinary Education (SCECIE). Her research focuses on exploring the possible climates and potential habitability of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun, called "extrasolar planets." Dr. Shields's memoir shares her personal and professional path as an astronomer, classically trained actor, mother, and Black woman in STEM, searching for life in the universe while building a meaningful life here on Earth. More information is available via Dr. Shields's public biography, from which the language in this paragraph has been taken.

This event is part of the James Michelin Distinguished Visitors Program. Dr. Shields's visit to campus is co-sponsored by the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Division of Geology and Planetary Sciences, and the Hixon Writing Center.

Please note that this event is in Hameetman Auditorium, which is located in the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (1216 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125), not in the Hameetman Center building. Visitors to campus can consult this guide to the event location for details about parking.