Life in Outer Space?

James Kasting

James Kasting is an Evan Pugh Professor at Penn State University, where he holds joint appointments in the Departments of Geosciences and in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science. He earned an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Physics from Harvard University in 1975 and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Michigan in 1979. Prior to coming to Penn State in 1988, he spent 2 years at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and 7 years in the Space Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center south of San Francisco. His research focuses on the evolution of planetary atmospheres and climates and on the question of whether life might exist on planets around other stars. In 2018, he was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. His semi-popular book, How to Find a Habitable Planet (Princeton University Press), was published in 2010.