Sarah Hörst

Sarah Hörst is a prominent figure in Space Science, renowned for her expertise in planetary atmospheric chemistry. She holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees with honors—one in Planetary Science and one in Literature—from the California Institute of Technology in 2004. Hörst obtained her PhD in Planetary Sciences from The University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in 2011. Her dissertation, "Post-Cassini Investigations of Titan Atmospheric Chemistry," was supervised by Roger V. Yelle. At Arizona, she received the 2011 Gerard P. Kuiper Memorial Award, 2009 Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences, and several teaching honors. Her graduate research involved Titan photochemical modeling and tholin production.

After her PhD, Hörst was an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder (2011–2014), studying oxygen's effects on haze formation. Since 2014, she has been faculty at Johns Hopkins University in Earth and Planetary Sciences: Assistant Professor (2014–2021), Associate Professor (2021–present), and Professor. She holds appointments as Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute Fellow (2018–present) and Adjunct Astronomer at Space Telescope Science Institute (2014–present). Hörst's research explores organic chemistry in Titan's atmosphere, exoplanet hazes, and prebiotic synthesis via lab simulations. Highly cited works include "Titan's atmosphere and climate" (2017, 507 citations), "Titan tholins" (2011, 283 citations), and "Haze production rates in super-Earth and mini-Neptune atmosphere experiments" (Nature Astronomy, 2018). Awards encompass the AGU James B. Macelwane Medal (2020), AAS Early Career Award (2020), AGU Fellow (2020), and JHU President's Frontier Award (2022, $250k). She has served as AGU Planetary Sciences Section Secretary (2017–2022), on the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (2016–2022), and science definition teams for Dragonfly and Io Volcano Observer missions. Hörst's innovations in aerosol simulation advance comprehension of habitability in diverse worlds.

Professional Email: sarah.horst@jhu.edu