Last week Dr. Aomawa Shields, an astrobiologist from University of California Irvine, visited Princeton University for a series of wonderful events. She gave the Institute for Advanced Study/Astrophysical Sciences Department colloquium talk on her work studying the atmospheric dynamics of terrestrial exoplanets. When looking for life in the universe, astrobiologists need to understand the atmospheric conditions on Earth-like planets beyond the solar system in order to determine the potential habitability of a world. Dr. Shields and her research group run complex simulations that can be used with observations to study what conditions are necessary for life as we know it.

Following her departmental talk with a public talk, Dr. Shields spoke with an audience of 150+ community and university members on Thursday evening. In addition to an engaging and lively presentation about her research, Dr. Shields discussed her unconventional path to astronomy and read excerpts from her new autobiography, Life on Other Planets: Finding My Place in the Universe. 

To close out her visit, the CST was happy to accommodate Dr. Shields’s request to host a workshop on yoga nidra and the importance of rest. Dr. Shields led a group of 30 students, postdocs, faculty, and staff through a yoga nidra exercise and discussed her practice of yoga and meditation.