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Clara Sousa-Silva, assistant professor of physics at Bard College, has been named one of the ten 2023 Scientists to Watch by Science News for her work in quantum astrochemistry. The SN 10 list, compiled by Science News for the eighth year, spotlights 10 early- and mid-career scientists on their way to widespread acclaim, and each scientist named was selected by a committee of Science News writers and editors—many of whom are experts in their fields—for their potential to shape the science of the future.

Sousa-Silva’s research studies how molecules in space interact with light, essential groundwork for scientists figuring out what the astronomical objects glimpsed through telescopes are made of. One day, she hopes her work will help identify traces of life in the atmospheres of worlds beyond Earth, including exoplanets, planets outside our solar system that humans will almost certainly never visit.

“While I don’t believe in ranking scientists, I am delighted to see my work be meaningful to others,” Sousa-Silva said. She came to Bard College after serving as a quantum astrochemist at the Center for Astrophysics, a collaboration between the Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Prior to her tenure at the center, she was a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her work investigates how molecules interact with light so that they can be detected on faraway worlds.

Science News has been covering the latest discoveries in science, technology and medicine since 1921, and is published by Society for Science. It offers award-winning news and features, commentary, multimedia and access to archives dating back to 1921. Concise, current and comprehensive, the magazine provides an approachable overview of all fields and applications of science and technology.