Amy Mainzer
Astronomer, UCLA professor and Unobtainium co-host who brings space science to screens, classrooms and NASA’s search for hazardous asteroids.
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Latest
Amy’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
YouTube
NASA
Netflix
PBS KIDS
NASAOverview
- Work
- Astronomer, professor, science advisor and podcast co-host
- Based at
- UCLA, Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences
- Education
- Physics at Stanford; astronomy at Caltech and UCLA
- On screen
- Astronomer Amy on Ready Jet Go!; science advisor for Don’t Look Up
- In the lab
- Infrared astronomy, asteroids and space telescopes
Mini bio
How it started.
Amy traces her love of space to seeing Star Wars and finding pictures of the Andromeda galaxy in a library book when she was six or seven. Stargazing and reading led to physics at Stanford, a master’s in astronomy at Caltech and a UCLA astronomy doctorate in 2003.
Finding what is out there.
She became a leader in infrared astronomy and the search for asteroids, serving as WISE deputy project scientist and NEOWISE principal investigator. Now a UCLA professor, she leads NEO Surveyor, a space telescope being built to find potentially hazardous asteroids and comets.
Meeting fans on screen.
Ready Jet Go! brought her to young viewers as Astronomer Amy in 2016, alongside her work advising the show’s science curriculum. For the 2021 film Don’t Look Up, she helped ground the comet story in science and worked with Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio on their astronomer characters.
Science meets storytelling.
In 2026, she and writer-producer Adam Sigel began sharing their love of science fiction through Unobtainium. Their conversations explore the real science behind movie and television ideas, with guests from research and entertainment.
Creditschronological, newest first
Podcasts
- 2026UnobtainiumCo-host with Adam Sigel
Film and television
- 2021Don’t Look UpScience advisor
- 2016Ready Jet Go!Live-action host and science curriculum consultant
Space science
- 2026NEO SurveyorMission lead at UCLA; in development
- 2024NEOWISEPrincipal investigator; spacecraft decommissioned in 2024
Awards
- Robert Holland Jr. Award for Research and Leadership Excellence2026 · Recognized for research, teaching, mentorship and efforts to broaden participation in STEM.
- American Astronomical Society Fellow2025 · Honored for astronomy research, mission leadership, public outreach and service.
- Lew Allen Award for Excellence2010 · Recognized for work on solar system minor bodies using automated analysis of infrared observations.
Quotes
What I love about space science is the sense of perspective it conveys.Amy Mainzer, UCLA Newsroom
In an August 2026 interview about solar eclipses and her lifelong interest in space.
Trivia
- Asteroid 234750 Amymainzer is named after her.
- She said in 2026 that she had belonged to a movie-watching club for more than 20 years.
- Her Don’t Look Up work included designing the comet and helping the actors navigate technical astronomy language.
Find Amy
Follow Amy’s science and explore the films with her on Unobtainium.
Are you Amy Mainzer?
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