Societal questions raised by the detection of extra-terrestrial life
Steven J. Dick, former NASA Chief Historian
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Steven J. Dick, former NASA Chief Historian
Steven J. Dick, former NASA Chief Historian
"Steven J. Dick served as the NASA Chief Historian and Director of the NASA History Office from 2003-2009. Prior to that he worked as an astronomer and historian of science at the U. S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. for 24 years. He obtained his B.S. in astrophysics (1971), and MA and PhD (1977) in history and philosophy of science from Indiana University. Among his books are The Biological Universe (1996), Life on Other Worlds (1998), and (with James Strick) The Living Universe: NASA and the Development of Astrobiology (2004).
Dr Dick is the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, the NASA Group Achievement Award for his role in NASA’s multidisciplinary program in astrobiology, the NASA Group Achievement Award for the book America in Space, and the 2006 LeRoy E. Doggett Prize for Historical Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society. He has served as Chairman of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society, as President of the History of Astronomy Commission of the International Astronomical Union, and as President of the Philosophical Society of Washington. In 2009 the International Astronomical Union designated minor planet 6544 stevendick in his honour."
Shaking the foundations of the law: legal issues posed by a detection of extra-terrestrial life
Professor Frans von der Dunk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Law, USA
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Professor Frans von der Dunk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Law, USA
Professor Frans von der Dunk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Law, USA
Professor Frans G. von der Dunk holds the Harvey and Susan Perlman Alumni / Othmer Chair of Space Law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also is Director of Black Holes BV, a Leiden-based consultancy in space law and policy. He was awarded the IISL Distinguished Service Award in October 2004 and the IAA Social Science Award in October 2006. In the summer of 2008, he was nominated, as the first lawyer ever, Member of the ESF’s ESSC. He was also the sole lawyer on the Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation established by ASE in 2007. As of 2006, he is the Series Editor of ‘Studies in Space Law’.
He has served as adviser to the Dutch Government, several foreign Governments, the European Commission, ESA, the UN, the OECD, various space agencies, as well as a number of other entities and companies.
He is inter alia Director Public Relations of IISL, Member of the Board of ECSL, and Member for the Netherlands in the ILA Committee on Space Law. He is also Member of the International Editorial Board of ‘Space Policy’. Further memberships include: IAA, ABILA, and AIAA.
Dr Margaret Race, SETI Institute,
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Dr Margaret Race, SETI Institute,
Dr Margaret Race, SETI Institute,
Dr Margaret Race is an ecologist at SETI Institute (Mountain View, California), who works with NASA on astrobiology and planetary protection. She is also actively involved in the analysis of societal, ethical and policy implications of space exploration and the possible discovery of extra-terrestrial life. Over the past decade, she has served on numerous US and international studies on avoiding forward and back contamination on both robotic and human missions in the Solar System. In addition to her research and analytical work, Dr Race is actively involved in science education and outreach about astrobiology through the mass media, schools, museums, and public presentations.
Dr Race received her BA degree (Biology) and MS degree (Energy Management and Policy) from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Ph.D. (Ecology) from the University of California at Berkeley. Previously, she has been a Professor and researcher at Stanford University (Human Biology Program), Assistant Dean at UC Berkeley (College of Natural Resources), and Senior Science Policy Analyst at University of California Office of the President.
Some consequences of contact
Michael Michaud
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Michael Michaud
Michael Michaud
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Michael Michaud
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Michael Michaud
- Membership status unknown
- No primary institution
Author of over one hundred published works, Michael Michaud was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer for 32 years before turning full-time to writing. During his diplomatic career, he served as Director of the State Department's Office of Advanced Technology and as Counselor for Science, Technology, and Environment at the American embassies in Paris and Tokyo.
Michaud led the successful negotiation of bilateral science and technology agreements, played an important role in the revival of U.S.-Soviet space cooperation, and was one of the initiators of U.S.-Soviet anti-satellite arms control negotiations. He represented the Department of State in interagencty space policy forums and testified before Congressional committees four times on space-related issues.
He is the author of two research-driven books, one a study of debates about possible future contact with an extra-terrestrial civilization and the other a study of the American pro-space movement.
Professor Ivan Almar, Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
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Professor Ivan Almar, Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Professor Ivan Almar, Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Iván Almár, DSc, is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study, Budapest, Hungary. He is Honorary President of the Hungarian Astronautical Society. He worked in space research for more than 50 years on satellite tracking, upper-atmospheric research and satellite geodesy. Member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) since 1984, and was chairman of its Space and Society Commission in 2003-2005. He was Vice President of the International Astronautical Federation in 1982-1984. As guest editor of the IAA Multilingual Space Dictionary he received the IAA Book Award in 2001. Member of the SETI Committee since 1983, and was its co-chairman between 1986 and 2001. In 2008 he presented the Billingham Cutting-Edge Lecture at the International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow, and has received the Giordano Bruno Memorial Award of the SETI League. In January 2010 he was one of the invited speakers at the Discussion Meeting of the Royal Society on ‘The detection of extra-terrestrial life and the consequences for science and society’.
Tuesday 5 October
Dr Douglas Vakoch, SETI Institute and California Institute of Integral Studies,
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Dr Douglas Vakoch, SETI Institute and California Institute of Integral Studies,
Dr Douglas Vakoch, SETI Institute and California Institute of Integral Studies,
Dr Douglas Vakoch is the Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute, where he researches ways that different civilizations might create messages that could be transmitted across interstellar space. Dr Vakoch leads the SETI Institute’s online research projects Earth Speaks and La Tierra Habla, which gather messages from around the globe that people would want to send to other worlds.
Dr Vakoch serves as chair of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Study Group on Interstellar Message Construction, which examines the challenges of creating messages intelligible to extra-terrestrial civilizations. He also chairs the IAA Study Group on Communication with Extra-terrestrial Intelligence, also known as Active SETI. As a member of the International Institute of Space Law, he examines international policy issues related to sending messages to other civilizations.
With degrees in comparative religion, history and philosophy of science, and psychology, Dr Vakoch also studies the broader societal implications of the search for life beyond Earth. As an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, he is particularly interested in how we can communicate what it means to be human to other civilizations.
Professor Kathryn Denning, York University, Canada
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Professor Kathryn Denning, York University, Canada
Professor Kathryn Denning, York University, Canada
Kathryn Denning is an anthropologist and archaeologist. At the broadest level, her research examines scholarly and popular ideas about Others, their relationships to us, and how we can know them. The Others she studies include the ancient (in archaeology), the animal (in zoos), and the alien (in SETI). Much of her recent work has focused upon SETI, particularly scientists' conceptions of the alien Other. Her published work includes examinations of SETI researchers’ use of Earth civilizations and history as analogues for ETI, ideas about how one might communicate with a radically different intelligence, the interstellar transmission debate, and efforts to prepare for a detection. Her current projects (jointly with, variously, Lori Marino, Margaret Race, Douglas Vakoch, Paul Davies, the SETI Institute, and the NASA Astrobiology Institute) focus upon the evolution of intelligence as applicable to SETI, and the social issues connected to astrobiology and SETI. Denning is a member of the IAA SETI Permanent Study Group.
Questions and Answers 2nd, Tuesday 5 October
Questions and Answers 2nd, Tuesday 5 October
What could studies of extra- terrestrial life tell us about the future of humanity?
Professor John Zarnecki, The Open University, UK
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Professor John Zarnecki, The Open University, UK
Professor John Zarnecki, The Open University, UK
John Zarnecki, Emeritus Professor of Space Science at the Open University, has over 35 years of experience in Space research; he has been involved in various iconic space missions including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Giotto mission to Halley’s Comet and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan. His initial field of interest was x-ray astronomy but for most of his career, he has been involved in the study of the physical properties of Solar System bodies. He has served as President of the Royal Astronomical Society (2016–18) and has just completed a term as Chair of ESA’s main Science Advisory Body, the Space Science Advisory Committee.
Extra-terrestrial Life and the Future of Humanity
Steven J. Dick, former NASA Chief Historian
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Steven J. Dick, former NASA Chief Historian
Steven J. Dick, former NASA Chief Historian
"Steven J. Dick served as the NASA Chief Historian and Director of the NASA History Office from 2003-2009. Prior to that he worked as an astronomer and historian of science at the U. S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. for 24 years. He obtained his B.S. in astrophysics (1971), and MA and PhD (1977) in history and philosophy of science from Indiana University. Among his books are The Biological Universe (1996), Life on Other Worlds (1998), and (with James Strick) The Living Universe: NASA and the Development of Astrobiology (2004).
Dr Dick is the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, the NASA Group Achievement Award for his role in NASA’s multidisciplinary program in astrobiology, the NASA Group Achievement Award for the book America in Space, and the 2006 LeRoy E. Doggett Prize for Historical Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society. He has served as Chairman of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society, as President of the History of Astronomy Commission of the International Astronomical Union, and as President of the Philosophical Society of Washington. In 2009 the International Astronomical Union designated minor planet 6544 stevendick in his honour."
Black holes: attractors for intelligent life?
Clement Vidal, Centre Leo Apostel (CLEA) and Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group (ECCO), Belgium
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Clement Vidal, Centre Leo Apostel (CLEA) and Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group (ECCO), Belgium
Clement Vidal, Centre Leo Apostel (CLEA) and Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group (ECCO), Belgium
Clément Vidal is a researcher at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). He has a background in Philosophy, Mathematical Logic (Master's degrees at the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, France) and Cognitive Sciences (MSc, EHESS/ENS/Paris 5/Paris 6, France). He has broad interdisciplinary interests in the philosophy of science, complexity sciences, cognitive sciences, praxeology, etc. His current research at the transdisciplinary Center Leo Apostel focuses on the origin and far future of the universe. In 2008, he co-founded with John Smart, the Evo Devo Universe research community. He edited the special issue of the first international conference on The Evolution and Development of the Universe (EDU 2008). Twenty-two authors contributed to this volume composed of peer-reviewed articles, commentaries and responses.
Extra-terrestrial life and the future of humanity
Dr Stephen Baxter, British Interplanetary Society,
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Dr Stephen Baxter, British Interplanetary Society,
Dr Stephen Baxter, British Interplanetary Society,
Born in Liverpool, England, Dr Stephen Baxter has degrees in mathematics and engineering, has worked as a teacher in mathematics and physics, and since 1987 has published over forty books, mostly science fiction novels, which have been published internationally and have received many awards. He is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, President of the British Science Fiction Association, and Vice-President of the HG Wells Society. He is also a member of the Post-detection Task Group of the IAA SETI permanent study group.
Earth ethics in an intelligent universe
Reverend Doctor Ted Peters, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union
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Reverend Doctor Ted Peters, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union
Reverend Doctor Ted Peters, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union
Ted Peters is Professor of Systematic Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, USA. He co-edits the journal Theology and Science published by Routledge for the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. He is author of Science, Theology and Ethics (Ashgate 2003); The Evolution of Terrestrial and Extra-terrestrial Life (Pandora 2008); and Anticipating Omega (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2008). He is co-author of Theological and Scientific Commentary on Darwin’s Origin of Species (Abingdon 2009).
The transcension hypothesis: cosmic censorship of advanced civilizations?
Professor John Smart, University of Advancing Technology,
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Professor John Smart, University of Advancing Technology,
Professor John Smart, University of Advancing Technology,
John M. Smart is an evolutionary developmental systems theorist. He is an associate professor at the University of Advancing Technology (Tempe, AZ), an affiliate of the ECCO research group at VUB, and a co-founder of the international Evo Devo Universe research community (Evodevouniverse.com) exploring evolutionary and developmental processes of change at the universal and subsystem scales. His personal website (since 1999) on accelerating technological change is AccelerationWatch.com.
John has a B.S. in business administration from UC Berkeley, an M.S.-eq. in physiology and medicine from U.C. San Diego School of Medicine, and an M.S. in futures studies from the University of Houston. He studied systems theory at UCSD under the mentorship of James Grier Miller (Living Systems, 1978), who mentored under process philosopher Alfred North Whitehead.
Questions and Answers 3rd, Tuesday 5 October
Questions and Answers 3rd, Tuesday 5 October
Extra-terrestrial life and arising political issues for the UN agenda
Professor Ivan Almar, Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
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Professor Ivan Almar, Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Professor Ivan Almar, Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Iván Almár, DSc, is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study, Budapest, Hungary. He is Honorary President of the Hungarian Astronautical Society. He worked in space research for more than 50 years on satellite tracking, upper-atmospheric research and satellite geodesy. Member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) since 1984, and was chairman of its Space and Society Commission in 2003-2005. He was Vice President of the International Astronautical Federation in 1982-1984. As guest editor of the IAA Multilingual Space Dictionary he received the IAA Book Award in 2001. Member of the SETI Committee since 1983, and was its co-chairman between 1986 and 2001. In 2008 he presented the Billingham Cutting-Edge Lecture at the International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow, and has received the Giordano Bruno Memorial Award of the SETI League. In January 2010 he was one of the invited speakers at the Discussion Meeting of the Royal Society on ‘The detection of extra-terrestrial life and the consequences for science and society’.
Briefing the United Nations ‘Copuos’ about saving the moon farside from man-made radio pollution
Dr Claudio Maccone, International Academy of Astronautics, Italy
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Dr Claudio Maccone, International Academy of Astronautics, Italy
Dr Claudio Maccone, International Academy of Astronautics, Italy
Claudio Maccone was awarded a Council of Europe Higher Education Scholarship by the British Council in 1974 to read for a PhD. at the Department of Mathematics of the University of London King’s College, where he obtained his PhD in 1980.
Maccone’s first book was published in1994 entitled Telecommunications, KLT and Relativity. His second book,The Sun as a Gravitational Lens: Proposed Space Mission, won the 1999 Book Award for the Engineering Sciences Award by the International Academy of Astronautics. Since then, has published over eighty scientific and technical papers, most of them in Acta Astronautica.
In 2000, Maccone was elected Co-Vice Chair of the SETI Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics and appointed Coordinator of the IAA Cosmic Study on the Lunar Farside Radio Lab. He was elected a Full Member of the International Academy of Astronautics in 2001.
In this same year, asteroid 11264 was named Claudiomaccone in his honour by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
In 2008, Maccone was responsible for organizing the international SETI conference First IAA Symposium on Searching for Life Signatures at UNESCO in Paris,
He was recently named Technical Director of the International Academy of Astronautics for Scientific Space Exploration.
Professor Richard Crowther, UK Space Agency, UK
Professor Richard Crowther, UK Space Agency, UK
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Professor Richard Crowther, UK Space Agency, UK
Professor Richard Crowther, UK Space Agency, UK
Professor Richard Crowther of the Science and Technology Facilities Council was, until April 2008, Head of Space Technology at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. His primary research interests are man-made orbital debris, planetary protection, and near Earth objects (asteroids and comets that pass close to the Earth). He is a consultant to the European Space Agency on the subjects of orbital debris and planetary protection (biological contamination). He has acted as co-chair of the COSPAR Panel on environmentally damaging acivities in space and is the Head of the UK delegations to the Inter-Agency Debris Committee and the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, previously acting as Chair of the UN Working Group on Near Earth Objects within the Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. He is a delegate to the European Space Agency's International Relations Committee.
Representing humanity? The possible role of the UN in the context of contact with extra-terrestrial life
Professor Frans von der Dunk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Law, USA
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Professor Frans von der Dunk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Law, USA
Professor Frans von der Dunk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Law, USA
Professor Frans G. von der Dunk holds the Harvey and Susan Perlman Alumni / Othmer Chair of Space Law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also is Director of Black Holes BV, a Leiden-based consultancy in space law and policy. He was awarded the IISL Distinguished Service Award in October 2004 and the IAA Social Science Award in October 2006. In the summer of 2008, he was nominated, as the first lawyer ever, Member of the ESF’s ESSC. He was also the sole lawyer on the Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation established by ASE in 2007. As of 2006, he is the Series Editor of ‘Studies in Space Law’.
He has served as adviser to the Dutch Government, several foreign Governments, the European Commission, ESA, the UN, the OECD, various space agencies, as well as a number of other entities and companies.
He is inter alia Director Public Relations of IISL, Member of the Board of ECSL, and Member for the Netherlands in the ILA Committee on Space Law. He is also Member of the International Editorial Board of ‘Space Policy’. Further memberships include: IAA, ABILA, and AIAA.
Professor Mazlan Othman, United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) and Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), Austria
Professor Mazlan Othman, United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) and Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), Austria
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Professor Mazlan Othman, United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) and Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), Austria
Professor Mazlan Othman, United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) and Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), Austria
Professor Mazlan Othman was educated in Malaysia and studied Physics at the University of Otago, New Zealand, becoming the first woman at the University to receive a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. She returned to Malaysia as her country’s first astrophysicist and set about establishing university courses in astronomy, laboratories for undergraduate and post-graduate training and actively promoting the space sciences. Her campaigning to promote public awareness of astronomy led to a position with the Prime Minister’s Department to direct the design and construction of the National Planetarium. Whilst here, she also established the nation’s Space Science Studies Division and, as Director-General, initiated the National Microsatellite Programme, which gave birth to TiungSAT-1.
In 1999, she was appointment Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and, in 2002, returned to Malaysia to set up and lead the National Space Agency. As Director-General of the National Space Agency, her strategic initiatives included instituting national level discussions and coordination on space-related activities, formulation of the national space programme, law and policy. During her tenure, she directed the establishment of the National Space Centre, which houses TT&C, AIT, and calibration research facilities. She also instituted the Langkawi National Observatory. In 2007, she returned to the post of Director of UNOOSA. In 2009, she was appointed Deputy Director General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV).
Othman also has a keen interest in fusing the sciences with the arts and initiated the Science-Inspired Arts Camp jointly with the National Art Gallery, bringing together prominent artists and scientists. She was also instrumental in the production of two large-format film science documentaries and has produced four planetarium shows. Othman has published and presented numerous academic papers, not only on astrophysics but also on sustainable development and many aspects of management. She is a fellow of several professional bodies.
Dr Margaret Race, SETI Institute
Dr Margaret Race, SETI Institute,
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Dr Margaret Race, SETI Institute,
Dr Margaret Race, SETI Institute,
Dr Margaret Race is an ecologist at SETI Institute (Mountain View, California), who works with NASA on astrobiology and planetary protection. She is also actively involved in the analysis of societal, ethical and policy implications of space exploration and the possible discovery of extra-terrestrial life. Over the past decade, she has served on numerous US and international studies on avoiding forward and back contamination on both robotic and human missions in the Solar System. In addition to her research and analytical work, Dr Race is actively involved in science education and outreach about astrobiology through the mass media, schools, museums, and public presentations.
Dr Race received her BA degree (Biology) and MS degree (Energy Management and Policy) from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Ph.D. (Ecology) from the University of California at Berkeley. Previously, she has been a Professor and researcher at Stanford University (Human Biology Program), Assistant Dean at UC Berkeley (College of Natural Resources), and Senior Science Policy Analyst at University of California Office of the President.
Tuesday 5 October II
Dr Douglas Vakoch, SETI Institute and California Institute of Integral Studies,
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Dr Douglas Vakoch, SETI Institute and California Institute of Integral Studies,
Dr Douglas Vakoch, SETI Institute and California Institute of Integral Studies,
Dr Douglas Vakoch is the Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute, where he researches ways that different civilizations might create messages that could be transmitted across interstellar space. Dr Vakoch leads the SETI Institute’s online research projects Earth Speaks and La Tierra Habla, which gather messages from around the globe that people would want to send to other worlds.
Dr Vakoch serves as chair of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Study Group on Interstellar Message Construction, which examines the challenges of creating messages intelligible to extra-terrestrial civilizations. He also chairs the IAA Study Group on Communication with Extra-terrestrial Intelligence, also known as Active SETI. As a member of the International Institute of Space Law, he examines international policy issues related to sending messages to other civilizations.
With degrees in comparative religion, history and philosophy of science, and psychology, Dr Vakoch also studies the broader societal implications of the search for life beyond Earth. As an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, he is particularly interested in how we can communicate what it means to be human to other civilizations.
Questions and Answers 4th, Tuesday 5 October
Questions and Answers 4th, Tuesday 5 October
General Discussion and Concluding Remarks