Out of this World - and into the Next

Out of this World - and into the Next

Notes from a Physicist on Space Exploration

Dr Adriana Marais

Join us for the launch of Out of this World and Into the Next with Adriana Marais in conversation with Jenny Crwys-Williams.

Humanity has always looked up at the night sky and wondered what lies beyond our world. Now, we are on the precipice of stepping out among the stars, not just as lone astronauts or billionaire tech bros, but as a civilization.

Our story is one of curiosity and an innate desire to explore and understand not only the world around us, but the world within us, and the worlds above us, from

extremophiles to extraterrestrials, technosignatures to terraforming, DNA to Dyson Spheres.

In this sweeping treatise on exploration, innovation and human ingenuity, theoretical physicist Dr Adriana Marais seeks to answer the questions that stand at the heart of scientific endeavour: What are the building blocks of life and how does life emerge? Are we alone in the universe and if so, why? How did we get here - and where are we going next?

Dr Adriana Marais is an award-winning theoretical physicist and internationally renowned advocate for off-world exploration. Her PhD and postdoctoral work in

quantum biology on photosynthesis and the origins of the building blocks of life in space was published in top physics journals including Physical Review Letters, and

won awards from L'Oreal-UNESCO and the Royal Society of South Africa among others. She was Head of Innovation at SAP Africa between 2017 and 2019, and is

currently a Director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa. In 2020, she was among 5 global finalists for Women in Tech's the Most Disruptive Woman in Tech Award.