Abel Mendez

Professor Abel Méndez is a planetary astrobiologist and Director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. His research focuses on the habitability of Earth, the Solar System, and exoplanets. Prof. Méndez is a NASA MIRS Fellow and has conducted research at Fermilab, NASA Goddard, NASA Ames, and the Arecibo Observatory. He is best known for developing the Earth Similarity Index (ESI), creating the Habitable Worlds Catalog, and leading a reanalysis of the Wow! Signal. His current work focuses on theoretical modeling of planetary habitability, the characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets, and the search for transient radio signals that may reveal astrophysical phenomena or technosignatures.

Prof. Méndez’s work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and the University of Puerto Rico. He regularly shares updates on astrobiology and planetary science on X and BlueSky, where he is active as @ProfAbelMendez.