Incoming U of T professor Sara Seager named Eddie Goldenberg Distinguished Research Chair in Planetary and Molecular Sensing Technologies
By Cynthia Macdonald, A&S News
Internationally renowned astrophysicist and planetary scientist Sara Seager will officially join the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) at the University of Toronto on October 1 as North Star Distinguished Professor. This honour accompanies another of significance: she has been named the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair in Planetary and Molecular Sensing Technologies.
The Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada program is designed to support institutions in attracting world-leading researchers whose work addresses critical national and global challenges. First announced in last year’s federal budget, the program emphasizes both research excellence and tangible impact.
Seager’s career exemplifies the program’s ambitious mandate. Since the 1990s, she has contributed foundational knowledge to the understanding of exoplanets, or planets that exist outside our solar system. Her research has already led to the discovery of an exoplanet atmosphere, and contributed to the first detection of light emitted from an exoplanet.
She leads the Venus Morning Star Missions, which aim to search for signs of microbial life in Venus’s cloud decks. Seager’s pioneering work draws us closer to the possibility of finding life on another planet.
As Eddie Goldenberg Distinguished Research Chair, Seager will develop miniature molecular sensors capable of detecting trace organic compounds at unprecedented sub-part-per-trillion levels. She will also develop next-generation computer models of planetary and environmental systems, coupled to space mission design. The program will translate technologies being developed for planetary exploration into applications including environmental monitoring, chemical detection, and Earth remote sensing.
“I am honoured to be part of this exceptional new Canadian program,” says Seager. “Space exploration pushes us to develop technologies to new limits, and the Eddie Goldenberg Distinguished Research Chair will enable my team to translate new developments into advanced tools here on Earth.”
Seager’s research will be supported through cross-appointments with the Departments of Physics and Chemistry, as well as the David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, with funding from the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics.
“CITA’s mission is to push the frontiers of astrophysics through cutting-edge research,” says Shantanu Basu, interim director of CITA. “Sara Seager’s work is at the forefront of studying exoplanetary systems and atmospheres. She brings to Canada a dynamic, interdisciplinary research program with the potential to transform our search for extraterrestrial life.”
Her appointment at CITA marks a return to her alma mater: before earning her PhD from Harvard in 1999, she graduated as a math and physics specialist from U of T in 1994. In 2023, she received an honorary Doctor of Science from U of T for her leadership in the fields of astrophysics and planetary science.
Says Stephen Wright, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science: “It’s my great pleasure to congratulate Sara Seager on being named a 2026 Eddie Goldenberg Distinguished Research Chair. Thanks to Professor Seager’s highly interdisciplinary research, we are learning more every day about the habitability of planets and the search for life across the cosmos. I’m honoured to welcome her back to U of T, where her inspiring career was first conceived.”
Seager joins CITA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was professor of physics, professor of planetary science and professor of aeronautics and astronautics. Over the course of her career, she has received many accolades including the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, a MacArthur Fellowship (or “genius grant”), and the distinction of Officer of the Order of Canada.