At 30 years old, Michelle Kunimoto already has more than 3,000 planet candidates under her belt.
Inspired by science fiction and curiosity, the University of British Columbia astronomy graduate is passionate about searching for exoplanets — bodies orbiting stars outside our own solar system.
She’s currently leading a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) hunting for them. In 2024, Kunimoto will return to her alma mater as an assistant professor in UBC’s department of physics and astronomy.
“She is an excellent exoplanet hunter,” said UBC astrophysicist Jaymie Matthews of his former student. “Twenty years from now, Michelle Kunimoto will be a big name in exoplanets.
“When she started, the only
