BIO Kala Perkins

Kala Perkins is a cosmologist, astrobiologist, and astrobioethicist whose interdisciplinary career bridges science, philosophy, and global culture. She began her studies in psychology and creative arts therapies in Los Angeles, followed by training in Ayurvedic medicine in India. Her academic journey continued in New York at Columbia University, where she focused on neuroscience, Peace and Conflict Studies, and UN Studies, while developing innovative astronomy-integrated curricula in New York schools.

She spent nine years living and working across Asia—India, Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet, China, and Mongolia—including time as a Buddhist monastic and two years collaborating with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences at the close of the Cold War. With a passion for astronomy, she spent a decade in Australia teaching and researching astrophysics, operating a community observatory, and leading science-art initiatives supported by the Ministry of Arts.

She holds a Master’s in Environmental Science (Cosmic Ecology) from ANU, a Master of Bioethics (LMU), and a Master of Divinity with Interfaith Chaplaincy (GTU, Berkeley). Kala teaches university courses in astronomy, ethics, and the psychology of religion, and offers public programs on mindfulness and cosmology. A member of the AAS, IAU, and COSPAR, she is currently pursuing doctoral research in Astro-Bioethics.