The astronomer, author and social media influencer has been selected as a winner of a 2025 Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications

Teresa Paneque Carreño, assistant professor in the University of Michigan’s Department of Astronomy, has been named a top award winner in the 2025 Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications.

“Teresa Paneque Carreño exemplifies impactful, far-reaching science communication that is deeply rooted in community, culture and accessibility,” said a release from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which presents the awards.

“Through her bestselling children’s book series, collaborations with UNICEF, and widely followed social media presence, Paneque Carreño combines storytelling, cultural relevance and scientific rigor to spark curiosity about science and astronomy and inspire the next generation. Her success as a communicator lies in her ability to meet young people where they are and broaden participation in science through both reach and impact.”

The 2025 cohort of winners includes 24 total awardees and Paneque Carreño is one of nine research scientists selected.

Paneque Carreño, who grew up and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Chile, is a full-time astronomer who studies planet formation. But she’s also cultivated a huge following with her science communication work, which she basically approaches as a second full-time job—even if it is a labor of love.

“My main career is science. Even though I do science communication at a very high level, I never did it to gain anything. I do it because it feels good. I love to teach and I love to talk,” Paneque Carreño said. “I’m very interested in what I do as a scientist—I think it’s very cool—but at the end of the day, I ask myself, ‘How am I helping other people?’ I think science communication is the way that I help my neighbor. It is the way that I can inspire other kids in Chile, in Latin America, to believe that they’re able to make a difference. Now, to be rewarded for that? It’s like the best thing that could ever happen.”

More than a million people follow Paneque Carreño on her TikTok and Instagram accounts combined. She’s met fans in crowded bookstores and book fairs throughout Central and South America thanks to her top-selling Spanish language book series called “El universo según Carlota,” or “The Universe According to Carlota,” for children and young adults. She was also named the first female UNICEF Chile ambassador in 2023 for her science and astronomy outreach work with children.

While her science communication was clearly resonating with the general public, she was speaking Spanish and the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards are judged in English. She knew her words would translate, but was less certain that the impact of those words would carry over. This award is proof that they do.

“I know that what I do is good at a sort of local level, but to be recognized at an international level was overwhelming,” Paneque Carreño said. “I think that this also shows the commitment towards diversity of the award: They are awarding people from other languages and other ‘publics’ beyond the U.S.”

Paneque Carreño joined U-M in 2024, where her work is supported by the Michigan Society of Fellows and by the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

“Tere is a treasure for science. She is a fantastic scientist but also the rare science communicator who connects,” said Edwin Bergin, U-M professor of astronomy. “We need great scientists but we also need individuals who are able, and willing, to speak more broadly. She is the full package and someone who is incredibly deserving of this award.”

Riding the wave

Paneque Carreño’s ascent into science communication stardom was serendipitous. It began in 2019 with a solar eclipse that she wasn’t particularly interested in. But astronomy has a special place in Chilean culture, she said.

“It’s important to understand that Chile is the best place in the world to look at the universe. We’re very proud of having the largest telescopes in the world,” Paneque Carreño said. “People here are interested in astronomy in a way that a lot of other people aren’t.”

In 2019, reporters around the country were working to provide their audiences with information about the upcoming eclipse and contacting universities with experts who could provide insights. Paneque Carreño was studying at the University of Chile. A press officer there knew she was also doing outreach work locally and figured she might be a good fit for the media requests. The hunch was correct: Paneque Carreño spent the entire day before the eclipse giving interviews.

From there, it became clear that large swaths of non-scientists were interested in what she had to say about space and the cosmos. She then started making videos that anyone could watch on social media, even as she moved to pursue her doctorate at Leiden University in the Netherlands and the European Southern Observatory in Germany.

As she grew her public following, she also caught the attention of other organizations with shared interests. A publisher reached out, which led to the creation of Carlota and a five-book series. She partnered with UNICEF. The European Space Agency even invited her to the control room to witness the launch of Juice, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission.

“I describe it sometimes as waves of opportunity that come forward and I feel compelled to just ride them,” Paneque Carreño said.

While she’s very grateful for these opportunities, she’s also very excited by the idea that her award, which comes with a $40,000 prize, will let her make her own waves.

“My hope is that this will let me be more intentional and not just wait for people to invite me somewhere, but be able to say, these are the places I’m going to go,” she said.