Pete Worden

Pete Worden is on the hunt for Earth 2.0, leading modern astronomy's search for an Earth-like planet. Formerly Director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, Dr. Worden now leads Breakthrough Initiatives, a privately funded suite of space science programs to find life beyond earth and explore interstellar space. He is also a Senior Science Fellow at Schmidt Sciences and a Laureate Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. Dr. Worden has authored or co-authored more than 150 scientific papers in astrophysics and space sciences. He was an Advisor to the Luxembourg Space Agency and was knighted by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for his space services. Dr. Worden served as a scientific co-investigator for three NASA space science missions – most recently the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph launched in 2013 to study the Sun. He received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for the 1994 Clementine Mission to the moon.