Our guest is Dr. Sara Imari Walker, an astrobiologist and theoretical physicist interested in the origin of life and discovering alien life on other worlds. She is deputy director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science and a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. She is also a fellow of the Berggruen Institute and a member of the external faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. She is the recipient of the Stanley L. Miller Early-Career Award for her research on the origin of life, and her research team at ASU is internationally regarded as being among the leading labs aiming to build a fundamental theory for understanding what life is.
Want to know more about Sara's work? Watch this video all about Universal Life Detection, Astrobiology, & Assembly Theory:
What is Ask An Astrobiologist?
Once a month, the NASA Astrobiology Program host a one-hour program where the public is invited to interact with a high-profile astrobiologist, who replies to Twitter and YouTube comment questions live on video.
Ask An Astrobiologist: Episode 71
Rethinking Astrobiology's Biggest Questions About Life Through New Physics
Featuring Dr. Sara Imari Walker (Arizona State University)
Hosted by Dr. Graham Lau (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science)
Production Assistants:
Sarah Treadwell (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science)
Anurup Mohanty (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science)
Mariam Naseem (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science)
Directed by Mike Toillion (NASA Astrobiology Program)
Illustrations by Melissa Flower ()
Music & Animation by Mike Toillion (NASA Astrobiology Program)