The JustSpace Alliance / Not Not Rocket Science LLC
Chair of the SETI Institute Science Advisory Board
Dr. Lucian Walkowicz is an astronomer, movement artist, and educator based in Chicago. As co-Founder of the JustSpace Alliance, Walkowicz studies how outer space serves as the site where humanity crafts its futures, and works to make those futures more just (both in space, and on Earth). Over their 20+ years in astronomy, Walkowicz has contributed to major astronomical projects such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, NASA's Kepler Mission, and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Their astronomical research seeks to understand where and how we might discover alien life in the universe, and how stars influence a planet's suitability for life. An organizer both within and outside STEM, they work towards social justice in the sciences and beyond, and use popular communication to foster knowledgeable, empowered publics.
Walkowicz holds a BS in Physics and Astronomy from Johns Hopkins University, an MS and PhD in Astronomy from the University of Washington, and held postdoctoral fellowships at UC Berkeley and Princeton. In 2014 they became an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium, where they worked until 2022 before departing to found Not Not Rocket Science LLC, a creative education and coaching business. In 2015 Walkowicz founded the LSSTC Data Science Fellowship Program, an initiative to provide astronomy graduate students with training in advanced computing. In 2017-2018, Walkowicz served as the 5th Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/LOC Chair in Astrobiology, where they convened and curated several interdisciplinary gatherings ("Decolonizing Mars" and "Becoming Interplanetary") to help coalesce the many voices clamoring for more equitable space futures.
Honors and Awards:
Scholastic Arts and Writing Alumni Achievement Award (2019)
Chicago Council on Science and Technology: Advancing the Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award (2016)
Crain’s Chicago Business “40 Under 40” Honoree (2015)
GOOD 100 Honoree (2015)
Kavli Fellow, Frontiers of Science (2012)
TED Senior Fellow (2013), TEDGlobal Fellow (2011)
SpokeStar of the Year, Light Pollution Advocacy, Astronomical League (2012)