Emma Louden

Emma Louden is an astrophysicist, strategist, TEDxTalk speaker, and advocate for space exploration who is passionate about empowering the next generation of students in STEM.

As a young girl in Park City, Utah, Louden spent her nights outside looking up at the Milky Way through the clear mountain air. After falling in love with the NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity, Louden’s astrophysics pathway took off quickly. She attended the Summer Science Program, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University, and was selected as a Brooke Owens Fellow and a Quad Fellow. As an astrophysics Ph.D. candidate at Yale University, Louden studies exoplanets—the planets beyond our solar system. Through her research, Louden aims to put Earth in context to show people why space exploration impacts our lives and how we can use it to facilitate meaningful change for the common good.

Louden’s reputation as a speaker is built on her ability to connect with audiences in an authentic and relatable way. Through sharing her research and her experiences as a young woman in STEM, she inspires students to pursue futures in science, technology, engineering, and math. Louden speaks at schools nationwide in hopes of destigmatizing the conversation around mental health, encouraging young people to become advocates for sustainability, and empowering the next generation to reach for the stars!