Emily Pass is an observational astronomer who studies exoplanets and small stars. Her research seeks to uncover how stellar diversity sculpts planet populations, with the ultimate goal of determining the stellar conditions necessary for habitable worlds. In recognition of this work, she was named one of Forbes 30 under 30 for 2026. As a PhD student at Harvard University, she was also a Peirce Fellow and NSERC Postgraduate Scholar, and her thesis was awarded the 2024 Fireman Prize. She is currently a Juan Carlos Torres Postdoctoral Fellow at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, but will soon be moving to the Université de Montréal as an assistant professor.
Title: The Stellar Recipe for an Earth-like Planet
Abstract: How does stellar diversity sculpt exoplanet populations? In this talk, I will explore this question through the lens of small M dwarfs, the most common type of star and key hosts for exoplanet detection and characterization. First, I will describe a series of projects that explore how small M dwarfs spin down, transitioning from the magnetically active, rapidly rotating state of their youth to the slowly rotating, mostly quiescent population we see in the field -- and with important implications for planetary atmosphere retention. Next, I'll discuss a volume-complete spectroscopic survey of small M dwarfs within 15pc and my work using this sample to constrain the occurrence rate of cold Jupiter-like planets. While outer giant companions to inner terrestrial planets have been found to be relatively common around Sun-like stars, I find that Jovians are rare beyond the snow lines of these M dwarfs, with implications for the evolution and habitability of their abundant terrestrial worlds. Looking beyond M dwarfs, I will also discuss some ongoing projects that explore how chemical diversity sculpts planet populations, leveraging the ancient, alpha-enriched stars in the galactic thick disk.