Happy Birthday to SETI Institute Co-Founder Jill Tarter

In 1984, Dr. Jill Tarter co-founded the SETI Institute alongside Tom Pierson and led the first grant-funded proposal for SETI research here. Since then, she has served as Project Scientist for NASA’s SETI program, the High Resolution Microwave Survey, and has conducted numerous observational programs at radio observatories worldwide. She is a Fellow of the AAAS, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Explorers Club, she was named one of the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2004, and one of the Time 25 in Space in 2012, received a TED prize in 2009, two public service awards from NASA, multiple awards for communicating science to the public, and has been honored as a woman in technology. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at USC, Asteroid 74824 Tarter (1999 TJ16) has been named in her honor. She was the Jansky Lecturer in 2014.?

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ICYMI: Empowering the Next Generation of Cosmic Explorers with SETI Forward

The SETI Institute is announcing the 2023 SETI Forward Award recipients: Dana Yaptangco and Rózà Okón. Now in its 5th year, SETI Forward is a beacon for promising young scientists. Established by Lew Levy, SETI Forward committee founder and member of its Council of Advisors, this award nurtures talent, providing scholarship funds to aspiring researchers. The goal is to connect these students with opportunities that foster their passion for SETI and astrobiology, guiding them toward meaningful careers.

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Apply Now to a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Astrobiology or SETI at the SETI Institute

Two prize postdoctoral fellowships, one focused on astrobiology and the other focused on technosignatures, are taking applications for 2+1 year positions with the SETI Institute.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS MARCH 1, 2024.

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Apply for the Research Experience for Undergraduates Program?at the SETI Institute

Students will work with scientists at the SETI Institute and the nearby NASA Ames Research Center on projects spanning the field of astrobiology, from microbiology to planetary geology to observational astronomy.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS FEBRUARY 1, 2024.

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FDL Applications for 2024 are now open!

The Frontier Development Lab (FDL) brings together early-career Ph.D. and postdoctoral researchers from diverse scientific fields and pairs them with their counterparts in computer science to run an applied AI/ML research accelerator capable of answering some of humanity’s most critical research challenges in the areas of extreme weather modeling, disaster response and recovery, planetary defense, astronaut health, Heliophysics, Earth Science, astrobiology, and planetary science.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS MARCH 31, 2024

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SETI Live Replay: A City On Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through

Critically acclaimed, bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of research, they aren’t so sure it’s a good idea. Space technologies and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the knowledge needed to have space kids, build space farms, and create space nations in a way that doesn’t spark conflict back home. In a world hurtling toward human expansion into space, A City on Mars investigates whether the dream of new worlds won’t create nightmares, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. With deep expertise and a winning sense of humor, the Weinersmiths investigate perhaps the biggest questions humanity will ever ask itself—whether and how to become multiplanetary. Join them in a special conversation with SETI Institute's Beth Johnson.

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Planetary Picture of the Day: Week of January 8, 2024

Welcome to our weekly recap of our Planetary Picture of the Day (PPOD) for the week of January 8. Halley's Comet, a dust storm on Mars, the entire Pluto-Charon system, and Jupiter.

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Big Picture Science: Tech in Check

Worried that AI will replace you? It may not seem like the Hollywood writers’ strike has anything in common with the Luddite rebellion in England in 1811, but they are surprisingly similar. Today we use the term “Luddite” dismissively to describe a technophobe, but the original Luddites – cloth workers – organized and fought Industrial Revolution automation and the factory bosses who were replacing humans with cotton spinning machines and steam-powered looms. Find out what our age of AI can learn from textile workers of 200 years ago about keeping humans in the loop.

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