Dr. John Billingham, BM BCh, (March 18, 1930 – August 4, 2013) was a British

Physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and later director of the

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 ...

Program Office and Director of the Life Sciences Division at the

NASA Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...

in the USA. After retiring from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

he became a Trustee of 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 ...

Board of Directors. He was born in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, England in 1930 and educated at the

Royal Grammar School Worcester The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester and RGSW) is an 11-18 co-educational, private day school and sixth form in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent day ...

. From there he went on to

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

to study

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

. He gained a BM BCh degree from Oxford and

Guy's Hospital, London Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's ...

(which is equivalent to an M.D. in the US). He served as a medical officer with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) for seven years, rising to the rank of

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

(equivalent to Major in the USAF). In 1963, he was invited to join NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where he headed the Environmental Physiology Branch, and worked on the Mercury,

Gemini Gemini most often refers to: * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Gemini (astrology), an astrological sign Gemini may also refer to: Science and technology Space * Gemini in Chinese astronomy, the Gemini constellat ...

and

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

programs. In 1965 he moved to the

in California, where he headed up the Biotechnology Division, then the Extraterrestrial Research Division, and later the Life Science Division. In 1977 he appeared in the television documentary ''Mysteries of the Gods'' hosted by

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

to outline the projected search for extraterrestrial life that would later become

Project Cyclops Project Cyclops is a 1971 NASA project that investigated how the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) should be conducted. As a NASA product the report is in the public domain. The project team created a design for coordinating large ...

. In 2009 he was inducted into the NASA Ames Hall of Fame where he was recognized for his efforts as the Father of SETI in NASA. After retiring from NASA he joined the

as Senior Scientist, and in 1995 he became a Member of the SETI Institute's

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

, serving a term as Vice-Chair. He was also one of the people behind Project Cyclops. He died at the age of 83 in

Grass Valley, California Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 14,016. Situated at roughly in elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this norther ...

in August 2013.

References

External links

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
,1993, NASA Technical Reports Server
A reply from earth - A proposed approach to developing a message from humankind to extraterrestrial intelligence after we detect them
,1990, NASA Technical Reports Server
The Evolution of Complex Life
, 1989, NASA Technical Reports Server
Cultural aspects of SETI
, 1991, NASA Technical Reports Server
Detection of the earth with the SETI microwave observing system assumed to be operating out in the Galaxy
, 1991, NASA Technical Reports
An overview of selected biomedical aspects of Mars missions
, 1989, NASA Technical Reports Server *
'Father of SETI' at NASA, John Billingham
astrobio.net
Remembering John Billingham
centauri-dreams.org, Retrieved 2013-08-09. {{DEFAULTSORT:Billingham, John 1930 births 2013 deaths Military personnel from Worcester, England Royal Air Force officers Search for extraterrestrial intelligence People educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester NASA people English emigrants to the United States Physicians from California Alumni of University College, Oxford Medical doctors from Worcester, England 20th-century English medical doctors 21st-century English medical doctors