Sukrit Ranjan is a PhD candidate at Harvard University in astronomy, and a recent graduate of MIT where he majored in physics and minored in astronomy and history. His research interests are in extrasolar planets and astrobiology. He aims to contribute to the exploration of worlds beyond our own, and the search for life on them. He is also interested in supporting commercial exploitation of asteroids. In addition to scientific research, he is committed to outreach and education. He is an author for the science outreach blog Astrobites, a peer mentor in his department, and a volunteer for science fairs and public talks. His undergrad outreach work included providing a free astronomy class to local high-school students and teaching astronomy to students in Spain. He was a TA for three classes at MIT and two at Harvard.

In his free time, he loves exploring Earth through flying, hiking, SCUBA diving, and travel. He also loves cooking, reading, and playing board games. One day, he hopes to visit this minor planet.