Director, Center for SETI Research Carl Sagan was thinking of
Jill Tarter when he invented the main character in his novel
Contact. Her search for radio signals from distant planets began
at the University of California at Berkeley, and has led her to
become director of the SETI Institute's Center for SETI
Research. She has written award-winning teachers' guides about
life in the universe, and has inspired many young people to
consider questions of life beyond Earth. Video interview with
Tarter by the SETI Profile of Tarter in Astrobiology Magazine:
Article by Tarter describing the SETI project: Director, UC
Berkeley SETI Program Dan Werthimer has spent twenty-five years
searching for radio and laser signals from distant
civilizations. He's created a worldwide supercomputer, the
SETI@home project, connecting millions of people's hard drives
across the globe to aid in the search. Though he hasn't detected
a single signal, he's not deterred. Either other life exists out
there or we are alone. To Werthimer, eith