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Jill Cornell Tarter (born January 16, 1944) is an American
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
best known for her work on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (
SETI Seti or SETI may refer to: Astrobiology * SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. ** SETI Institute, an astronomical research organization *** SETIcon, a former convention organized by the SETI Institute ** Berkeley SETI Research Cent ...
). Tarter is the former director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the
SETI Institute The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit 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 futu ...
. In 2002, '' Discover'' magazine recognized her as one of the 50 most important women in science.


Early life and education

Tarter grew up in
New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
, and graduated from Eastchester High School in 1961. She was elected to its alumni association hall of fame in 2001. Prior to his death when she was twelve years old, Tarter's father was an early inspiration who encouraged her curiosity when she resisted suggestions that she follow pursuits considered more appropriate for a girl and announced that she wanted to be an engineer. On family trips to Florida with her father, she would look up at the dark skies and wonder who or what might be out there. Tarter earned a Bachelor of Engineering Physics degree as an undergraduate at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
(1965) as the only woman in her graduating class of 300 in the engineering college. Her professional interest in astronomy emerged as she pursued a
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
(1971) and
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
(1975) at the
University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
. In her PhD dissertation, she coined the term "
brown dwarf Brown dwarfs are substellar objects that have more mass than the biggest gas giant planets, but less than the least massive main sequence, main-sequence stars. Their mass is approximately 13 to 80 Jupiter mass, times that of Jupiter ()not big en ...
" while researching small-mass objects that fail to stably fuse hydrogen.


Astronomy career

Tarter has worked on a number of major scientific projects, most relating to the search for
extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...
. As a
graduate student Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...
, she was inspired to do SETI research by the Cyclops Report. Stuart Bowyer gave her the report to read when Bowyer discovered that Tarter could program the then-outdated PDP-8/S computer that had been donated by Jack Welch for Bowyer's SETI a project at Hat Creek Radio Observatory. She worked with Bowyer on the radio-search project SERENDIP and created the corresponding
backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
, "Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations". She was project scientist for NASA's High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS) in 1992 and 1993 and subsequently director of Project Phoenix (HRMS reconfigured) under the auspices of the SETI Institute. She was co-creator with Margaret Turnbull of the HabCat in 2002, a principal component of Project Phoenix. Tarter has published dozens of technical papers and lectures extensively both on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and the need for proper science education. She had spent 35 years in the quest for extraterrestrial life when she announced her retirement in 2012. On October 20, 2006, Tarter appeared on the
Point of Inquiry A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
podcast to discuss the question: "Are we alone?" Tarter stated, "Humans will have a different view about being human if and when we know the answer to the 'Are we alone?' question." In 2011, Tarter delivered a talk, "Intelligent Life in the Universe: Is Anybody Out There?", at the first Starmus Festival in the Canary Islands. The Festival, founded by astronomer Garik Israelian, was a blend of astronomy, allied sciences, music, and art. Tarter subsequently joined the Starmus Board of Directors, along with Israelian, astrophysicist and
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
founding guitarist
Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...
, theoretical physicist
Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...
, evolutionary biologist
Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...
, and others. Her 2011 talk was published in the book ''Starmus: 50 Years of Man in Space''. Tarter is a member of the CuriosityStream Advisory Board and the Space for Humanity Board of Advisors. In May 2013, the Science Laureates of the United States Act of 2013 was introduced into Congress. Tarter was listed by one commentator as a possible nominee for the position of Science Laureate, if the act were to pass. In 2017, science journalist Sarah Scoles published a biography of Tarter and a history of SETI, called ''Making Contact: Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.''


Honors and awards

Tarter's work in
astrobiology Astrobiology (also xenology or exobiology) is a scientific field within the List of life sciences, life and environmental sciences that studies the abiogenesis, origins, Protocell, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the univ ...
and her success as a female scientist have garnered achievement awards from a number of scientific organizations. * Awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Women in Aerospace in 1989. * Elected a Fellow of the
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to " ...
in 1994. * Chabot Observatory named her their person of the year in 1997. * Was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology in 2001. * Was elected a Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
in 2002 and a Fellow of the
California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, that is among the largest List of natural history museums, museums of natural history in the world, housing over ...
in 2003. * Received the
Adler Planetarium The Adler Planetarium is a public museum in Chicago, Illinois, dedicated to astronomy and astrophysics. It was founded in 1930 by local businessman Max Adler (Sears), Max Adler. Located on the northeastern tip of Northerly Island on Lake Michigan ...
Women in Space Science Award in 2003. * Was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''Time Magazine'' in 2004.''
TIME Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
'':
* Received two public service medals from NASA. * Asteroid 74824 Tarter (1999 TJ16) was named and approved by the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
’s Small Bodies Naming Committee in 2005. * Received Wonderfest's
Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization The Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization is an annual $5,000 award presented in honor of the late scientist Carl Sagan by Wonderfest, the San Francisco Bay Area Beacon of Science, to a scientist who has "contributed mightily to the public un ...
in 2005. * Recipient of a 2009 TED Prize. * Elected a Legacy Fellow of the
American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...
in 2020. * Elected a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 2021.


Popular culture

Tarter's astronomical work is illustrated in
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including e ...
's novel '' Contact''. In the film version of ''Contact'', the protagonist Ellie Arroway is played by
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...
. Tarter conversed with the actress for months before and during filming, and Arroway was "largely based" on Tarter's work. She has also been featured in John Boswell's ''Symphony of Science'' music video, "The Poetry of Reality (An Anthem for Science)". Prior to Seticon II in 2012 Tarter addressed concerns about alien invasion, like those seen in
science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...
s, in particular those expressed by
Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...
. Correlated with Hawking's reservations is his belief that humans should not attempt to broadcast signals in order to contact alien civilizations ( Active SETI). Tarter thinks that aliens evolved enough to communicate with and travel to Earth will be long-lived enough to have needed to grow beyond violent tendencies. : “Often the aliens of science fiction say more about us than they do about themselves.... While Sir icStephen Hawking warned that alien life might try to conquer or colonize Earth, I respectfully disagree. If aliens were able to visit Earth that would mean they would have technological capabilities sophisticated enough not to need slaves, food, or other planets. If aliens were to come here it would be simply to explore. Considering the age of the Universe, we probably wouldn’t be their first extraterrestrial encounter, either. We should look at movies like ‘Men in Black III,’ ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Battleship’ as great entertainment and metaphors for our own fears, but we should not consider them harbingers of alien visitation.”


References


External links


Tarter featured at Creative Class

Lecture about long-term SETI strategies
presented to the
Long Now Foundation The Long Now Foundation, established in 1996, is an American non-profit organization based in San Francisco that seeks to start and promote a long-term cultural institution. It aims to provide a counterpoint to what it views as today's "faster ...
(
Ogg Vorbis Vorbis is a free and open-source software project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The project produces an audio coding format and software reference encoder/decoder (codec) for lossy audio compression, libvorbis. Vorbis is most common ...
format). *
'It Takes a Cosmos to Make a Human'
Jill Tarter interviewed by Krista Tippett of The On Being Project, 2021; audio with transcript. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarter, Jill 1944 births Living people American women astronomers American astrobiologists Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Eastchester High School alumni Search for extraterrestrial intelligence University of California, Berkeley alumni American skeptics 20th-century American astronomers 21st-century American astronomers 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Astronomical Society