Betül Kaçar

Betül Kaçar is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin and a principal investigator with the Kacar Research Group who is involved in astrobiology research, directing the NASA Astrobiology Consortium MUSE. She specializes in the field of molecular paleobiology, studying alien planets and ancient life. Kaçar is the first Turkish woman and the youngest scientist to lead a NASA research center. She shared her insights on finding alien life at platforms such as SXSW and TED and participated in the SXSW Wonder House event. Asteroid 284919 Kaçar was named in her honor, with the official naming citation published by the Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature of the IAU on 8 November 2021.

Kaçar's research has attracted significant funding, with her having received over $9 million in grants as a lead investigator. Beyond her research, Kaçar has made an impact on the astrobiology community by co-founding SAGANet, the only astrobiology outreach and grassroots network that assists teachers and students in astrobiology research around the world. She has previously taught in the Molecular and Cellular Biology department at the University of Arizona and is affiliated with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science. Her contributions to the field of origins of life studies have been recognized, with Astrobiology Magazine featuring her as a key contributor.

Kaçar's influence goes beyond the scientific community. She uses her platform to advocate for gender equality in education by partnering with the 2020 UN Women Generation Equality Campaign, underscoring her commitment to global education for girls and women. Her role in astrobiology and the search for life in the universe was recognized as part of the "I am Generation Equality" campaign by UN Women. Kaçar has also contributed to public discourse on the importance of life, writing an essay for Aeon in 2020 titled "Do we send the goo? The ability to stir new life into being, all across the Universe, compels us to ask why life matters in the first place."