This post was updated at 11:23 p.m.

Amy Mainzer didn’t plan on studying asteroids when she graduated from her doctoral program in 2003.

But now, Mainzer – who received her doctorate of astronomy from UCLA – is building a telescope that will be sent to space to detect asteroids before they hit Earth’s surface. Alongside two other witnesses, Mainzer will testify before Congress on Thursday on NASA’s planetary defense strategy.

The telescope is the successor to the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, a telescope used to map the sky and identify objects near Earth, according to the NASA website. Mainzer – an earth, planetary and space sciences professor – was honored with becoming a 2025 American Astronomical Society Fellow for her astronomical and astrophysical achievements.

“To be recognized in this way by my peers is really special,” Mainzer said.

Mainzer was awarded the fellowship for her contributions to the NEOWISE project and for her work in public outreach and community service, according to the American Astronomical Society website.

The telescope is currently in the assembly phase, and Mainzer is overseeing construction at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Utah State University and BAE Systems in Colorado, she said.

“All the major elements now of the spacecraft and the payload are being built and coming together,” Mainzer said.

David Jewitt, a distinguished professor in the EPSS department, said he helped convince her to start teaching at UCLA and added that her high-profile work with NASA sets her apart.

“She has this mission that is probably one of the most exciting missions that NASA could do,” he said.

Mainzer’s mission in assessing the threat of asteroids to Earth will shape public understanding of NASA’s work and the environment’s impact on human life, Jewitt added.

He also said her persistence, patience and persuasiveness are key aspects of her character that allow her to succeed in her research.

“I think that’s one of the special things about Amy Mainzer, is that she basically is kind of a pile driver,” Jewitt said. “She will just keep on, keep on, keep on until the other side breaks down. So this is really the key – determination.”

Kiana McFadden, a graduate student at the University of Arizona who works under Mainzer to model the solar system’s main belt asteroids, said Mainzer took the time to personally teach her how to code better while they were working together. McFadden added that the two published a paper in 2023 based on their research on a specific asteroid using data from the WISE mission.

Mainzer also serves on the meteorite collection committee, which oversees the meteor gallery on campus. The collection is the fifth largest in the country, comprising over 1,500 meteorites, according to the UCLA Meteorite Museum website.

[Related: Missing meteorite samples from UCLA collection found on eBay listing]

Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni, the chair of the EPSS department and Louis B. and Martha B. Slichter endowed chair in the geosciences department, said Mainzer has driven curation and growth in her time chairing the committee of the meteorite collection, something Mainzer sees as a valuable educational resource.

“You can go in and see rocks that are from the very beginning of the solar system,” Mainzer said. “You can see pieces of the moon and Mars. So I’m looking forward to working more with the meteorites, seeing what we see out of (NEO) Surveyor.”

Beyond the classroom, Mainzer has also made contributions to Hollywood productions, including being the host and science advisor on PBS’ “Ready Jet Go!” and consulting on Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up,” where she designed the characteristics of the comet featured in the film.

Mainzer said her goal is to make science education more accessible to the general public, adding that she found movies and television shows the most popular method for conveying information.

“If I’m lucky, a few thousand people might read my research papers, but a lot more people see movies and TV,” Mainzer said. “It’s important that science be accurate as much as possible and that scientists have a voice that is heard in popular media.”

Mainzer is also teaching an EPSS undergraduate course this year, where she said she hopes to give students insight into the “bizarre and interesting” studies of the universe. Lithgow-Bertelloni said Mainzer’s willingness to collaborate, alongside her expertise and scientific interests, have been tremendously important to the department.

“She is just willing to help as much as she can to advance the mission of the department in many different directions – educationally, outreach and in our scientific excellence, which is what’s really important to us,” Lithgow-Bertelloni said.

Mainzer said she hopes people can understand that science is not something people can take for granted but something people need to fight for.

“We have science because many people have, over many years, fought for the resources to have it, for the right to be able to do research freely, to work on topics that are important and motivating to them, to be able to report the results without bias or influence,” Mainzer said. “That’s not something to be taken for granted ever, especially not now.”