Priscilla Nowajewski-Barra, a Chilean planetary scientist specialising in understanding how the atmospheres of Earth and other planets move, has been nominated for the International Recognition Award at the Influencer Magazine Awards 2026. The nomination recognises her groundbreaking research, her advocacy for women in STEM, and her commitment to making science accessible to the public. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics, a PhD in Fluid Dynamics, and completed a postdoc in Astronomy, and she also holds diplomas in Data Science, Astronomy, and Systems Engineering for space missions, along with training in media communication and science outreach. Her knowledge and expertise in planetary science are mostly self-taught, making every step in her research a journey of continuous discovery. Her doctoral thesis was the first Chilean publication on planetary atmospheres in Icarus, a journal specialised in planetary sciences. A significant milestone to achieve this goal was an invitation from NASA Ames Research Center to present her results before they were published. During that time, international groups were working on the topic, while she strove to convince her peers of the validity of her results. She has faced significant challenges in academia from a young age, confronting academic violence that threatened to unfairly interrupt her career not once, but at least four times. These difficult situations forced her to make decisions that ultimately forged her path, and she learned that continuing to research planetary sciences would be an uphill battle and that she would have to create her own opportunities.
In 2018, Priscilla became the Chilean representative for The Mars Society, opening up a space for the first time to discuss planetary sciences and empowering those who wished to pursue research in this field. Step by step, she became a pillar of support for new generations of planetary scientists in her country, guiding undergraduate and graduate theses on Mars and actively mentoring young researchers who chose planetary sciences as their life’s work. The Mars Society Chile became a benchmark for planetary sciences and astrobiology in the country, with a mission to make the field visible across Chile and Latin America while actively fostering research.
In 2019, she co-authored the book Vida: su origen, evolución y búsqueda en el espacio with the founders of The Mars Society Chile, which remains a foundational reference book in astrobiology to this day. Distributed not only in Chile but also in Argentina, Peru, and Colombia, it sold over 1,700 copies, a remarkable milestone given the complex political climate in Chile and globally at the time. The book explores the origin of life on Earth through astronomy, geology, atmospheric sciences, and biology, weaving in personal anecdotes and her own experiences in planetary sciences. During this stage, she expanded into science communication and entrepreneurship, hosting talks, interviews, and online courses, allowing the Chilean chapter, now legally established as a Foundation, to secure independent, sustainable funding while building an organic community of over 3,500 followers.
In 2021, her career received a major boost when she joined the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope observatory, the largest in the world, located in the Atacama Desert, as an operations astronomer. This role allowed her to pioneer “atmospheric astronomy” as an in-house atmospheric researcher, optimizing the planning of international astronomical observations. ALMA also amplified her platform as a science communicator, enabling her to represent the institution nationally and internationally through major keynote talks and prestigious science fairs. During this same period, she participated in international documentaries highlighting the complex atmospheric events affecting the Altiplano at the Atacama Desert, which were broadcast in the US, UK, and Australia.
Priscilla became a mentor for global programs such as Europlanet Society, Space4Women, and PROVOCA, supporting young students and researchers from Chile, Africa, and Iran, helping them realize that their dreams were attainable and that they had an ally in their corner. As the capstone project of the PROVOCA mentorship program, she co-created Spacio Ciencias, a 3-episode YouTube mini-podcast with fellow mentors, tackling academic violence and the hurdles women face pursuing or practicing STEM careers in academia and industry. The first episode gathered 115 subscriptions and 1.6K views, generating profound engagement from Latin American female researchers who shared their own stories and thanked them for addressing these realities with objectivity and lived experience.
Her journey of perseverance and leadership caught the eye of international authors, leading to features on her biography in books such as Empowering Women in STEM: Working Together to Inspire the Future by Sanya Mathura, What’s Space Got Do With It?: 10 Life Lessons For Personal Growth by Shelli Brunswick, and Ice, Rock, and Beauty: The Myriad Objects of the Solar System by David Brodie. Currently, she has returned to her entrepreneurial roots, working to democratize access to atmospheric data with the goal of empowering the general public to make long-term decisions in the face of climate change. She continues to deliver lectures and participate in public discussions on Climate Change, Planetary Sciences, and Women in STEM, and she is writing a second book on planetary sciences, this time featuring her own illustrations of the Solar System to bridge the gap between art and science. What distinguishes Priscilla Nowajewski-Barra is her unwavering determination to pursue planetary science despite significant obstacles and her commitment to opening doors for others. Her dedication to planetary sciences extends far beyond research; she is deeply convinced that this field holds the keys to solving our current planetary crises and that the technologies we must develop to inhabit other planets will ultimately provide crucial solutions to the environmental catastrophes we face right here on Earth. Her nomination for the International Recognition Award at IMA 2026 celebrates her extraordinary contributions to planetary science, science communication, and the empowerment of women in STEM, and her enduring legacy as a researcher who does not wait for funding to do science but follows her passion for discovering new knowledge through observing nature.
