There's no place like home. Unless, perhaps, your exploration involves finding a new home among the stars.
But world-renowned exoplanet researcher Sarah Seager says she's thrilled to be returning to her Earthly home in Canada after leaving the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to return to her alma mater, the University of Toronto.
Seager's research includes the search for Earth 2.0 and life beyond it, even in inhospitable atmospheres such as the clouds of Venus.
The MIT graduate, who has worked for nearly 20 years, says it's time for her to return to Toronto, where she grew up. Her return will also bring world-class research from leading scientists to Canada.
“Canada has always welcomed me, as has the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. I've received a bunch of awards from Canada; I'm often invited to just come back and visit,” Seager said.
“So I kind of had an ongoing relationship.”
Seeger will join the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) as a professor in September 2026.
She hopes to inspire the next generation of researchers and is bringing with her some incredible projects.
“All my projects will come with me to Canada,” she said. “Also, I hope to start something new.”
This is great news for CITA director Shantanu Basu, the man who brought Seeger back to Canada.
“I think the visionary leadership that she shows in this area is what attracts people,” Basu said.
“It brings new people into the field and, frankly, helps us reach the people who fund science, which is ultimately the public.”
Life on Venus?
One of Seager's planned projects is crazy: the search for life in the clouds of Venus.
In 2020 article co-authored with Seeger claimed to have found phosphine in the planet's clouds. This chemical signature is created on Earth by organisms that do not need oxygen to survive and can be created in laboratories.
The idea that life could potentially exist on an extremely inhospitable planet caused great excitement, although the results were questioned in a follow-up study other scientists.
But Seeger and others want to know for sure. So, it appeared Morning stara project that aims to send missions to the second planet from the Sun early next decade.
One mission consists of a balloon that will fly through the clouds of Venus and collect a sample from its atmosphere, then return it to Earth.
Search for habitable worlds
When Seager received her PhD from Harvard in 1994, only one exoplanet had been discovered. The second, orbiting a star similar to the Sun, was discovered in 1995.
There are currently more than 6,000 exoplanets confirmed.
But so far, not a single exoplanet similar to Earth has been discovered. This is because they are difficult to detect as they are relatively small and invisible to telescopes as they would be washed out by the light of their star.
WATCH | Worlds await discovery, says NASA:
Here's what led Seeger to his passion project: Project Starshade.
The mission will involve a unique spacecraft with a shadow blocking the star's light, potentially making it easier to spot an Earth-like planet.
The project is currently on hold, but only temporarily, Seager said.
US cuts “opportunities” for Canada: CITA
Basu said he had been wanting to recruit Sara into CITA for a long time.
“We always had the idea that in the distant future she might be someone we could attract and bring back to Canada,” he said.
Then the Trump administration began reduction of scientific programs.
“[We thought] hey, this could be an opportunity for Canada and Canadian science and research in general,” Basu said.
“So the idea came up: OK, maybe now is a good time to look for people in the United States that we always thought we might want to attract… [and] she is one of Canada’s most renowned scientists who also works abroad.”
According to Basu, CITA is not yet involved in exoplanet research, which is why Seeger's arrival is so interesting.
“Our mission is to engage cutting-edge science and push boundaries. And that, Sarah, is the definition of what she does,” Basu said.
“She was at the forefront of making predictions about what would be observable in exoplanetary systems and atmospheres.”
Seager's research isn't just about exoplanets. It's about finding the right ingredients for life, so that also requires laboratory work.
“[You’re] definitely seeing more exoplanets in Toronto. Let’s put it this way,” Seager said of her experiments.
Basu said her interdisciplinary approach—“combining exoplanet science with organic chemistry and aerosol engineering”—is “very compelling.”
“And that's really also part of CITA's mission: to do theoretical astrophysics in a way that can make contact with other areas of astronomy and even beyond,” he added.
For now, Seeger is busy preparing to return to the same university whose campus she passed through on her way to high school.
“When you think about making a change in life, what better way than to come home?” she said.
