Department Homepage
The Carl Sagan Institute (CSI) was founded to find life in the universe. Based on the pioneering work of Carl Sagan at Cornell, our interdisciplinary team is developing the forensic toolkit to find life in the universe, inside the Solar System and outside of it, on planets and moons orbiting other stars.
From designing a reversible male contraceptive to detecting life on distant ocean worlds, the latest Cornell Engineering SPROUT Awards are cultivating breakthroughs across medicine, space exploration, robotics and environmental sensing.
Read more
The "premier telescope in space right now" will start a fourth annual cycle of observations on July 1, and three early-career astronomy researchers in A&S are PI or co-PI on observation programs chosen from a very competitive field.
Read more
In a musical journey through the cosmos, the Cornell Symphony Orchestra will perform the world premiere of “Ex Terra, Ad Astra,” a new work commissioned especially for this year’s Young Person’s Concert.
Read more
In November, we celebrated 90 years since Carl Sagan was born. On Valentine’s Day today, we celebrate 35 years since the birth of—thanks to Prof. Sagan’s persuasion—one of the greatest photographs of all time.
Read more
Cornell scientists are developing a library of basalt-based spectral signatures that not only will help reveal the composition of planets outside of our solar system, but also could demonstrate evidence of water on those exoplanets.
Read more
The astronomer’s legacy can be found on Earth and far beyond—from a record-setting exhibit to an iconic portrait of our planet.
Read more
In person and online Nov. 9, thousands attended an interdisciplinary program of research presentations and music celebrating Carl Sagan’s legacy, on what would have been his 90th birthday.
Read more
On the eve of what would have been Sagan's 90th birthday, well-wishers commune at Lake View Cemetery, leaving notes and trinkets.
Read more
The Carl Sagan Institute was founded in 2015 at Cornell University to find life in the universe and explore other worlds – how they form, evolve and if they could harbor life both inside and outside of our own Solar System.