Education: PhD Geological Sciences
Location: Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
Other Affiliations: Visiting Assistant Research Scientist, UMD/NASA GSFC/CRESST
Contact: svet@bmsis.org
Dr. Svetlana Shkolyar is an astrobiologist and science communicator who thinks about the question, “Are We Alone” for a living. She holds degrees in physics from the University of North Florida, science journalism from the University of Florida, space studies from the University of North Dakota, and geological sciences from Arizona State University.
She currently works at the University of Maryland College Park and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She wears two hats as related to the Search-For-Life topic. Wearing her researcher hat, she works on life detection techniques for Mars missions using laser instruments. She also builds webtools to help life detection mission planning for engineers and scientists as a team member of the NASA Center for Life Detection. She has previously participated on two of NASA’s Mars rovers: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL / “Curiosity” Rover) and Perseverance Rover (Mars 2020). A detailed listing of her research publications can be found here.
Listen to her podcast interview on her work avoiding biosignature mimickers when searching for signs of life on Mars here. Watch her Cosmic Conversations presentation where she discussed the search for life on Mars and the science of NASA’s current Perseverance Rover here.
She was featured in NASA GSFC’s Early Career Scientist Spotlight where she shared her career beginnings, goals, and inspiration.
Wearing her public engagement hat, Dr. Shkolyar uses the impactful narrative of “Are We Alone” and the many interdisciplinary topics it encompasses as a tool to improve STEM literacy. She develops and shares astrobiology educational resources with educators who do public engagement (at museums, in the classroom, etc.) in order to engage students and especially kids with STEM topics. She has previously led a group called the Astrobiology Science Communication Guild, which connects a network of astrobiology researchers as subject matter experts to educators and public programs. One example of her science communication work is her 2026 Science Café presentation at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC titled, “The Discovery of Fossil Life on Mars: Confirming it, Announcing it, and What Comes Next”.
When she’s not at work, she loves experimentation of a different kind: in her kitchen. Her two kids, currently ages 3 and 7, are thankfully fans of her culinary creations (most of the time).