Lucianne M. Walkowicz

Lucianne Walkowicz (born 1979) is an American astronomer based at the Adler Planetarium noted for their research contributions in stellar magnetic activity and its impact onplanetary suitability for extraterrestrial life.

Since 2008, Walkowicz has been the chair of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Transients and Variable Stars collaboration and is the founding director of the LSST Data Science Fellowship program. They are internationally recognized for their advocacy for conservation of dark night skies, and were named a 2011 National Academy of Science Kavli Fellow and a 2012 TED Senior Fellow.

In 2017, Walkowicz was named the fifth Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology in the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. They began their tenure October 1, 2017, working on a project titled “Fear of a Green Planet: Inclusive Systems of Thought for Human Exploration of Mars.” Their project aims to create an inclusive framework for human exploration of Mars, encompassing both cutting-edge research on Mars as a place of essential astrobiological significance, while weaving in lessons from the diverse histories of exploration on Earth.

Walkowicz holds a BS in physics and astronomy from Johns Hopkins University, and an MS and PhD in astronomy from the University of Washington. As an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins, they got their taste for astronomy while testing detectors for the Hubble Space Telescope’s new camera.

Public appearances

• Walkowicz appeared in Werner Herzog's 2016 documentary Lo and Behold.
• Walkowicz appeared in National Geographic's series MARS.

Asteroid 205599 Walkowicz, discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in 2001, was named in their honor. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 17 November 2013 (M.P.C. 85914).

In April 2020 Walkowicz filed a trademark lawsuit against Mattel and one of its subsidiaries, American Girl. The lawsuit alleges that the toy-maker stole Walkowicz's likeness for the Luciana Vega astronaut doll.

Walkowicz uses they/them, or gender-neutral, pronouns.