SETI: Astronomy as a Contact Sport: A Conversation with Jill Tarter

Being a scientist is more than a profession - it's a privilege. It's almost like getting to remain a kid because I never have to stop asking "why? Early in my career, I studied brown dwarfs, and in fact, coined the term. I was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from the National Research Council to study how we might observe brown dwarfs and sometimes wondered why the taxpayers were willing to fund this area of research.

I found it fascinating but what were they getting out of it? Every new day presents an opportunity to learn something new, which is extremely motivating. The exponential advancement of technology in recent years is so exciting! I wake up wondering how we can better search the skies. What tools do we need? As a small team, we've designed our own signal processing tools to conduct the search in near-real time. For the first time, high-end servers are now fast enough, and this has opened up the door to all sorts of new possibilities.

Now we can reach out and involve the world in making our searches better. You received the TED Prize in , which is awarded to someone with a vision on how to change the world.

What is the significance of setiQuest and how will it impact the search? The world is full of smart people; and even if they don't work for the SETI Institute, they just might be motivated and able to help with the search. This will provide a platform for the rest of the world to apply their specific skills to improve current searches for extraterrestrial intelligence. The community will improve our current code, published as open source, and devise better algorithms to help broaden the search. Even people without those particular skill sets can become part of the search.

We also want to involve citizen scientists to help us do what algorithms can't. We will need people who can use their eyes and brains to detect patterns in signals.

There are certain regions of the spectrum where inhabitants of Earth generate the vast majority of signals our telescopes collect. To date we've neglected these because our algorithms get overwhelmed. But buried in there could just be a signal from somewhere else. A second benefit setiQuest offers is we get to create a dialog with people from around the globe, hearing about their world views and sharing with them a world view that emphasizes our common, connected cosmic origins.

We're all the same - we are human beings. My vision and sincere hope is that as we tell our stories and become involved in hearing each others' stories, we'll identify ourselves as Earthlings. By embracing our common humanity, our differences will be trivialized.

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What needs to happen to really propel SETI science forward? We need to involve the world and we need to establish the right funding mechanisms. The universe is vast and we may not yet be looking in the right places or using the right tools. My hope is we, as humans, survive long enough to figure out the right way to search. We need an endowment or stable funding source appropriate to support this long-range journey of exploration.

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When you're not searching the skies, how do you spend your free time? My husband, Jack Welch, and I have four kids from two marriages, now grown and on their own, so Jack and I tend to spend much of our time working together on projects we both love. We have an 8-year old adopted Chinese granddaughter and it is great to see her blossom and to watch my daughter enjoy being a wonderful parent. Our other granddaughter is challenged by Aspergers. We are very much enjoying seeing her successfully march into the world as a college student.

Jack and I are both pilots. Jack has an airplane he bought in the late '70s, which we still fly today, even after an unanticipated off-airport landing in the engine threw a rod. We recently had a bit of an adventure, flying across the country, visiting family and attending meetings.

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We encountered some difficult weather conditions along our trip, which introduced some risk and forced us to focus and take a break from thinking about work. I especially enjoyed the fact that for 20 days someone else cooked for me each night!

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Jack and I also love to dance so we make time to go samba dancing whenever we can. What contemporary or historic personality do you admire and why? I admire President Obama and the very intelligent approach he is taking on some of the very difficult issues we are facing. I also respect and admire Professor Margaret Burbidge, who was a phenomenal role model for any woman working in astronomy. In her own deliberate way, she opened up the observatory mountain tops for us. Admiral Grace Hopper is someone else I respect.



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She took on the Navy and rose in the ranks to become an Admiral. She had an impressive career and is credited with the computer term, "bug," after she discovered an insect was causing a computer glitch. Is there someone you would like to swap roles with for a month's time? I have the best job in the world!

Who are your favorite authors and what is your favorite movie? Growing up, I read a lot of science fiction; Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Heinlein were a few of my favorite authors. It didn't stoop to stereotypes but instead portrayed scientists as intelligent people who are passionate about their life's work and are occasionally obsessed. What is your favorite vacation destination?

I travel so much that I treasure the time I get to spend at home. My husband and I also spend time at our house at Donner Lake.

Search for extraterrestrial intelligence

The area offers such beautiful scenery and tranquility — even if we're working. It feels good to be there. Of course, Paris isn't half-bad either. If you had a one-year sabbatical to learn something entirely new, what would it be? Going back to my college years when I deliberately dated architectural students rather than engineers, it would be fun to study architecture.

But I won't be taking a sabbatical any time soon. I learn something new every day, which is very satisfying and a privilege. What would detecting a signal mean to you?



How do you imagine you'd feel? My second thought - where's the champagne? We've had some "practice" events when we thought we did pick up a signal. It is hard to think straight. Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a product review. Get to Know Us. Not Enabled Word Wise: Enabled Average Customer Review: Be the first to review this item Would you like to tell us about a lower price? Delivery and Returns see our delivery rates and policies thinking of returning an item?

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