Jennifer Wiseman - Ultra-deep fields, the numinous, and an omnipresent call to wonder and awe

Dr. Jennifer Wiseman gives expression to our cosmos, as a pioneering astrophysicist, an outspoken advocate for science within policy and the public, as well as a person of faith. Her's are sensibilities of a scientist, a theologian, and a human being in awe of the universe, recognizing that these parts of ourselves need not be in opposition but rather in beautiful and enriching conversation.

Join the Flourishing Commons community of listening and living - receive the newsletter that enriches these Origins conversations

Dr. Wiseman is a senior astrophysicist at NASA, where for over 20 years she has altered our understanding of, among other things, the formation of stars. Later she was named the Senior Project Scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope, what is in my opinion one of the best things we have done as a species.

Jennifer's work as a scientist is a part of broader questions, including how science is prioritized and supported by society as well as how it informs us as human beings about philosophy, theology, and art. Before she joined NASA she served as a Congressional Science Fellow for the American Physical Society. She is now Director-Emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's  Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) program.

Public speaker, science evangelist, and author, she is a brilliant articulator of the beauty of science and how it shows up in society and our lived experience.

She received a bachelor's degree in physics from MIT and a PhD in astronomy from Harvard.

So this is a conversation about re-orienting our way of viewing the universe and our world, from one that traditionally privileges a certain form of 'seeing' to one that invites a plurality of perspectives. I wanted to have this conversation because I think our predominant way of understanding the world today, science, needs to come into contact with other kinds of thinking, and the richest and most exemplary science has always understood this. And I wanted to explore a life that has lived and embodied that transformation.