WomenInScience: Jill Tarter and SETI
CNN recently featured an article on Dr. Jill Tarter, currently the director of the Institute’s Center for SETI Research. For those of you not familiar with it, SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) "is an exploratory science that seeks evidence of life in the universe by looking for some signature of its technology" and utilizes advanced signal-processing technology.
Tarter’s work might sound familiar. The character of Ellie Arroway in 1997’s "Contact" is rumored to be loosely based on Tarter’s extensive research (though the character in Carl Sagan’s novel "Contact" is not).
Dr. Tarter is one of three recipients of TED prizes for innovative "work in changing the world", and will accept her award in February 2009 alongside oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle (featured recently on dotFiveOne ).
A recent Seed Salon pairing placed Tarter and Spore creator Will Wright across from each other over a dinner table. In a short video piece titled "Evolution, Creativity and Future Life," Tarter and Wright discuss poignant questions from their seemingly disparate professions: how does gaming actually lead to innovation in science? What is the definition of life? What is the definition of intelligence? Can games truly evolve?
Be sure to read about Dr. Tarter’s work, and check out this video (visit here if video doesn’t load).
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