KU Student wins inaugural Ad Astra Kansas Foundation Award

Kai Smith, a senior at the University of Kansas studying biochemistry and astrobiology, and a native of Pretty Prairie, Kansas, has been awarded the 2025 Ad Astra Kansas Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship. The Ad Astra Kansas Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes space sciences throughout the state of Kansas.

At the University of Kansas, Smith has been researching how the building blocks of life might form in space, with a focus on the center of our galaxy and the development of complex organic molecules in extreme environments. As part of this work, he has used the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array in Chile, collaborating with the Nearby Galaxies Lab led by Dr. Elisabeth Mills.

After graduation, Smith plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry, focusing on how the ingredients for life might form in places beyond Earth, such as Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. His long-term goal is to become a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, helping explore other planets and moons using remote sensing technology to search for signs of life’s building blocks.

Smith will share his research during the Ad Astra Kansas Foundation’s Annual Galaxy Forum, held at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, on August 26, 2025, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Two additional scholarship winners, Julian Yie Jian Chee and Lauren Coffman, will also present on topics in rocketry and astronaut health, respectively. Admission to the Forum is free and includes complimentary access to the Cosmosphere’s Hall of Space for all attendees.