Sarah E. Maurer
Sarah E. Maurer
Professor and Associate Dean, Central Connecticut State University
Elected to the Academy in 2024

Education

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2004, BS, Biochemistry; University of California, Santa Cruz, 2010, PhD, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Professional Area(s)

Combinatorial chemistry and modeling in Astrobiology; liposome synthesis and characterization; analysis of complex chemical mixtures; Realistic prebiotic chemistry; understanding the origins of life using non-biological cell membranes

Citation

For world-renowned contributions to the field of abiogenesis within the origin of life research. Pioneered the use of combinatorial chemistry, advanced analytical tools, and machine learning to study molecular self-assembly under early Earth conditions. For being internationally recognized for scientific breakthroughs that proved the self-assembly of simple amphiphilic molecules to membrane like structures capable of cellular life on early Earth.