Dr. Aomawa Shields

Dr. Aomawa Shields is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at University of California, Irvine (UCI), classically trained actor, writer, rest leader, and certified yoga nidra facilitator. She is an astronomer and an astrobiologist whose research focuses on exploring the possible climates and potential habitability of extrasolar planets, Earth-sized planets orbiting cool, low-mass stars. To carry out her research, she uses a hierarchy of computer models, in concert with NASA’s Kepler mission, along with climate models traditionally used to predict climate and weather patterns on earth and observational data from ground- and space-based missions. This combined approach helps her research team, the Shields Center for Exoplanet Climate and Interdisciplinary Education, to determine the surface, atmospheric, and orbital conditions necessary for surface liquid water to exist on the most promising candidates for habitable planets in these systems. At UC Irvine, Dr. Shields teaches courses on the “Solar System and Extrasolar Planets”, “Life in the Universe,” and “Communication Skills in Physics and Astronomy.” Her papers have been published in a range of peer-reviewed publications including The Astrophysical Journal, Astrobiology, and Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Dr. Shields received her Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrobiology from the University of Washington in 2014, an MFA in Acting from UCLA in 2001, and an Sc.B. in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences from MIT in 1997. She held an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship and a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at UCLA and at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics prior to joining the UCI faculty in 2017.

She was awarded the prestigious NSF CAREER award to pursue an innovative program of research and education at UCI. Her research is also supported by the NASA Habitable Worlds and Exoplanets Research Program grants.

As a 2015 TED Fellow, Dr. Shields uses her theater and writing background to communicate science to the public in engaging, innovative ways. Her TED Talk “How We’ll Find Life on Other Planets” has garnered over 1.8 million views. Dr. Shields also wrote and narrated the popular TED-Ed talk, “Should we be Looking for Life Elsewhere in the Universe?” for young audiences. She is a 2025 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) bestowed by President Joe Biden, after being one of just 23 scientists across the nation nominated by the National Science Foundation each year. Dr. Shields is Founder and Director of the educational program Rising Stargirls, which encourages middle-school girls of all colors and backgrounds to explore and discover the universe using theater, writing, and visual art. Through Rising Stargirls, educators around the world learn how to conduct the workshop Shields created entitled, “Universe: More Than Meets the Eye,” using the Rising Stargirls Teaching and Activity Handbook, now publicly available in both English and Spanish. Dr. Shields’ has been featured in the books Changing the Equation: 50+ US Black Women in STEM by Tonya Bolden and The Portfolio Life by Christina Wallace. She has appeared in numerous media outlets, including PBS’s Nova, Glamour Magazine, Teen Vogue, The Discovery Channel, and The History Channel.

Dr. Shields wrote two articles for Inside Higher Ed on her experiences challenging systemically racist practices in physics and astronomy. Her memoir, Life on Other Planets: Finding My Place in the Universe, was published by Viking at Penguin Random House and Little Brown in the UK in July 2023, and will soon be published in Korea. In it, Dr. Shields 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. Shields has presented her book at various national and international events and has been showcased on Good Morning America, MSNBC, Talks at Google and many more. Dr. Shields is the proud mother of 8-year-old rising stargirl Garland-Rose, who she and husband Steven have deemed the most extraordinary lifeform in their universe.

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