The SETI Institute is a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

research organization incorporated in 1984 whose mission is to explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe, and to use this knowledge to inspire and guide present and future generations, sharing knowledge with the public, the press, and the government. SETI stands for the "search for extraterrestrial intelligence". The institute consists of three primary centers: The Carl Sagan Center, devoted to the study of life in the universe; the Center for Education, focused on astronomy, astrobiology and space science for students and educators; and the Center for Public Outreach, which produces "

Big Picture Science ''Big Picture Science'' is the national science radio program and podcast, produced at the SETI Institute and hosted by Senior Astronomer Seth Shostak and journalist Molly Bentley, the executive producer of the show. The program uses innovativ ...

", the institute's general science radio show and podcast, and "SETI Talks", its weekly colloquium series.

Primary centers

Carl Sagan Center

The Carl Sagan Center is named in honor of

Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...

, former trustee of the institute, astronomer, prolific author and host of the original "Cosmos" television series. The Carl Sagan Center is home to over 80 scientists and researchers organized around six research thrusts: astronomy and astrophysics,

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

s, planetary exploration, climate and geoscience,

astrobiology Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investig ...

and SETI. Guided by the astrobiology roadmap charted by the Drake Equation, the scientists of the Carl Sagan Center endeavor to understand the nature and proliferation of life in the universe and the transitions from physics to chemistry, chemistry to biology and biology to philosophy. Most of the research undertaken within the Carl Sagan Center is funded by grants from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

, while SETI endeavors are funded exclusively by private philanthropy. The institute's SETI researchers use both radio and optical telescope systems to search for deliberate signals from technologically advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. The SETI Institute employs over 90 researchers that study all aspects of the search for life, its origins, the environment in which life develops, and its ultimate fate. They include

Laurance Doyle Laurance R. Doyle (born 1953) is an American scientist who received his Ph.D. from the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg. Doyle has worked at the SETI Institute since 1987 where he is a principal investigator and astrophysicist. His main a ...

Peter Jenniskens Petrus Matheus Marie (Peter) Jenniskens (born 2 August 1962, in Horst) is a Dutch-American astronomer and a senior research scientist at the Carl Sagan Center of the SETI Institute and at NASA Ames Research Center. He is an expert on meteor showe ...

Pascal Lee Pascal Lee (; born 1964) is co-founder and chairman of the Mars Institute, a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute, and the Principal Investigator of the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. H ...

Mark R. Showalter Mark Robert Showalter (born December 5, 1957) is a Senior Research Scientist at the SETI Institute. He is the discoverer of six moons and three planetary rings. He is the Principal Investigator of NASA's Planetary Data System Rings Node, a co-inv ...

, Franck Marchis, and

Janice Bishop Janice Bishop is a planetary scientist known for her research into the minerals found on Mars. Education and career In 1988, Bishop earned a B.S. in chemistry and an M.S. in Applied Earth Science from Stanford University. She earned her Ph.D. ...

Center for Education

The Center for Education promotes STEM education through NASA and

NSF NSF may stand for: Political organizations *National Socialist Front, a Swedish National Socialist party *NS-Frauenschaft, the women's wing of the former German Nazi party *National Students Federation, a leftist Pakistani students' political gr ...

-funded programs aimed at teaching and inspiring children, young adults and educators in physical sciences with emphasis on astronomy and astrobiology. The Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program brings research to American middle and high school teachers. Selected science educators take a crash-course in astronomy and experience two sorties on the

SOFIA Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

(Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) modified 747 aircraft, operated by NASA and the German Space Agency. In 2016, the institute received a five-year grant from NASA for an institute-conceived STEM program for the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

. In partnership with the University of Arizona, the Girl Scouts of Northern California and the Girl Scouts of the USA, the SETI Institute launched "Reaching for the Stars: NASA Science for Girl Scouts." This will develop a new series of merit badges based on a STEM curriculum for girls aged 5 to 18. Funded by the National Science Foundation, SETI Institute operates a summer internship program for college students.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates Research Experiences for Undergraduates (or REUs) are competitive summer research programs in the United States for undergraduates studying science, engineering, or mathematics. The programs are sponsored by the National Science Foundation, and a ...

(REU) is an eight-week summer internship that pairs students with institute mentor/scientists. Bringing the Excitement of NASA Science to the Nation's Community Colleges, NASA Community College Network is a newly funded (2021) initiative to bring NASA subject matter experts (SME), research findings, and science resources into the nation's community college system.

Center for Public Outreach

The Center for Public Outreach brings the work of the SETI Institute and other leading research organizations, to the general public through its weekly radio broadcast and podcast – "Big Picture Science" and the weekly lecture series "SETI Talks." Big Picture Science is hosted by the institute's Senior Astronomer,

Seth Shostak Seth Shostak (born July 20, 1943) is an American astronomer and author, and is currently the senior astronomer for the SETI Institute. Shostak hosts SETI's weekly radio show/podcast ''Big Picture Science'', has played himself numerous times in TV ...

and co-hosted by Executive Producer

Molly Bentley ''Big Picture Science'' is the national science radio program and podcast, produced at the SETI Institute and hosted by Senior Astronomer Seth Shostak and journalist Molly Bentley, the executive producer of the show. The program uses innovativ ...

. The award-winning general science program engages the public with modern science research through lively and intelligent storytelling and interviews with leading authors, educators and researchers in wide-ranging disciplines. The show mixes engaging and topical science with a dash of humor and proves the thesis that science radio doesn't have to be dull! The institute's weekly colloquium series – SETI Talks, is an in-depth one-hour lecture featuring leading researchers from around the world in astronomy, astrophysics, aerospace technology, astrobiology, machine learning and more. Lectures are free of charge, open to the public and presented at Microsoft's Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, California. All SETI Talks are video-taped and archived on YouTube. Over 350 lectures are available on-line, and indexed on the institute's website.

Instruments

Instruments used by SETI Institute scientists include the ground-based

Allen Telescope Array The Allen Telescope Array (ATA), formerly known as the One Hectare Telescope (1hT), is a radio telescope array dedicated to astronomical observations and a simultaneous search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The array is situated at th ...

; several ground-based optical telescopes, such as the

Shane telescope The C. Donald Shane telescope is a 120-inch (3.05-meter) reflecting telescope located at the Lick Observatory in San Jose, California. It was named after astronomer C. Donald Shane in 1978, who led the effort to acquire the necessary funds from ...

Lick Observatory The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The observatory is managed by th ...

, the W.M.

Keck telescopes The W. M. Keck Observatory is an astronomical observatory with two telescopes at an elevation of 4,145 meters (13,600 ft) near the summit of Mauna Kea in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Both telescopes have aperture primary mirrors, and when co ...

and IRTF in Hawaii; and the

Very Large Telescope The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a telescope facility operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2 m across, ...

s in Chile. They also use space-based telescopes including the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

, the

Spitzer Space Telescope The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), was an infrared space telescope launched in 2003. Operations ended on 30 January 2020. Spitzer was the third space telescope dedicated to infrared astronomy, f ...

Kepler Johannes Kepler (; ; 27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws o ...

TESS Tess or TESS may refer to: Music * Tess (band), a Spanish pop band active from 2000 to 2005 * TESS (musician), a UK musician Film and theatre * ''Tess'' (1979 film), a 1979 film adaptation of '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' * ''Tess'' (2016 film) ...

, and the

Herschel Space Telescope The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Teles ...

. SETI scientists are involved in space missions, including the ''

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research ...

'' mission toward Pluto, the '' Cassini'' mission previously in orbit around Saturn, the Mars Rovers '' Opportunity'' and ''

Curiosity Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans ...

'', the ''

'' mission, and the ''

'' mission. They also cooperate with NASA in the CAMS meteor-tracking network.

History

The SETI Institute was incorporated as a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

California nonprofit organization in 1984 by

Thomas Pierson Thomas Pierson (March 22, 1950 – February 20, 2014) was founder and CEO of the SETI Institute (search for extraterrestrial intelligence), a non-profit institute conducting research in Astrobiology. Early life and education Tom Pierson was rais ...

(former CEO), and Dr. Jill Tarter. Financial and leadership support over the life of the SETI Institute has included

, Bernard Oliver, David Packard, William Hewlett, Gordon Moore,

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...

, Nathan Myhrvold, Lewis Platt, and Greg Papadopoulos. Two Nobel laureates have been associated with the SETI Institute:

Charles Townes Charles Hard Townes (July 28, 1915 – January 27, 2015) was an American physicist. Townes worked on the theory and application of the maser, for which he obtained the fundamental patent, and other work in quantum electronics associated wi ...

, key inventor of the laser, and the late

Baruch Blumberg Baruch Samuel Blumberg (July 28, 1925 April 5, 2011), known as Barry Blumberg, was an American physician, geneticist, and co-recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (with Daniel Carleton Gajdusek), for his work on the hepat ...

, who developed the Hepatitis B vaccine. Within the SETI Institute, Andrew Siemion heads the SETI effort.

is the host of

. Dr. David Morrison was the director of the Carl Sagan Center, until August 2015, when

Nathalie Cabrol Nathalie A. Cabrol () (born August 30, 1963 ) is a French American astrobiologist specializing in planetary science. Cabrol studies ancient lakes on Mars, and undertakes high-altitude scientific expeditions in the Central Andes of Chile as the pr ...

was appointed as director. Edna DeVore, the director of education and public outreach beginning in 1992, retired in 2018, at which time Pamela Harman became the new director of education. The SETI Institute is headquartered in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...

. In 2015, Silicon Valley businessman Bill Diamond was appointed as CEO. On 13 February 2015, scientists (including

David Grinspoon David H. Grinspoon (born 1959) is an American astrobiologist. He is Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute and was the former inaugural Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology for 2012-2013. His research f ...

, and David Brin) at an annual meeting of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, discussed Active SETI and whether transmitting a message to possible intelligent extraterrestrials in the cosmos was a good idea. That same week, a statement was released, signed by many in the SETI community, that a "worldwide scientific, political and humanitarian discussion must occur before any message is sent". On 28 March 2015, a related essay was written by

and published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. In January 2019, it was reported that the institute was looking for moons around

486958 Arrokoth Arrokoth (minor-planet designation 486958 Arrokoth; provisional designation ), formerly nicknamed Ultima Thule, is a trans-Neptunian object located in the Kuiper belt. Arrokoth became the farthest and most primitive object in the Solar System ...

Funding supporters

Funding for SETI Institute programs comes from a variety of sources. Contrary to popular belief, and their Form 990, no government funds are allocated for its SETI searches – these are financed entirely by private contributions. Other astrobiology research at the SETI Institute may be funded by

, the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

, or other grants and donations.Seti FAQ – see: So who funds the SETI search now?
/ref> TeamSETI is the SETI Institute's worldwide membership and support organization.

References

External links

The SETI Institute Official Website

Big Picture Science Radio Program Official Website

Colloquium Series
(including archives of past lectures)
"SETI: Astronomy as a Contact Sport – A conversation with Jill Tarter"
''Ideas Roadshow'', 2013
Official NASA Community College Website
{{Authority control Search for extraterrestrial intelligence