Chase Cooper

Chase is majoring in Astronomy with minors in Astrobiology and Mathematics. Chase is fascinated by the concept of alien life and is excited that he can be a part of the search. He really likes that astrobiology brings together relevant knowledge from diverse fields.

Chase is currently enrolled in his favorite astrobiology course, MCB 437, Life in Extreme Environments with Associate Professor Solange Duhamel. This class focuses on how current life on Earth has adapted to conditions that are considered extreme, such as high heat or extreme pressures on the sea floor. Chase has enjoyed learning how it is not only important to consider what kinds of life we could find beyond Earth, but it is also an opportunity to appreciate how diverse, adaptable, and weird our own planet is.

Chase has goals to become a researcher and teacher. He would like to be a professor so that he can continue conducting groundbreaking research and sharing those findings with others.

For the last 18 months, Chase has been working with LPL Associate Professor Tyler Robinson. He has been studying the phase curves of Titan and Earth, particularly how their atmospheres and oceans impact their brightness. This is impactful in designing and building future telescopes that can look for signs of habitability. Chase has also been working on another research project with LPL Assistant Professor Sukrit Ranjan to model biosignature gasses in Earth-like exoplanets.

When Chase is not working on school or research, he enjoys cooking, coding, and video games.