We've introduced several of our #notjustaliens scientists in the last few weeks, but of course, we would be remiss to leave out the people who DO participate in SETI research.
Dr. Wael Farah is a radio astronomer interested in studying the universe on short timescales. Wael is also interested in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, where he searches for signals that defy natural origins, such as narrowband emissions.
Text: Dr. Wael Farah is a radio astronomer interested in studying the universe on short timescales. Interestingly, the cosmos exhibits activity across various timescales ranging from milliseconds to seconds, hours, and days. Wael is also interested in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, where he searches for signals that defy natural origins, such as narrowband emissions. Wael is the project scientist for the Allen Telescope Array and is actively involved in upgrading the instrument and maximizing its scientific throughput. #sometimesaliens
Dr. Marina Walther-Antonio is a research scientist in Rochester, Minnesota, specializing in the human microbiome. She, her team, and collaborators are tracking evolutionary trends at the microbial single-cell genome and transcriptome level at the International Space Station under cosmic radiation. The transdisciplinary work being developed has applications in the biomedical sciences for disease prediction, early detection, and life detection on Earth and beyond.
Text: Dr. Marina Walther-Antonio is a research scientist in Rochester, Minnesota, specializing in the human microbiome. Dr. Walther-Antonio, her team, and collaborators are tracking evolutionary trends at the microbial single-cell genome and transcriptome level at the International Space Station under cosmic radiation. The basic and translational transdisciplinary work being developed has applications in the biomedical sciences for disease prediction and early detection, as well as life detection on Earth and beyond. #notjustaliens
Dr. Kimberley Warren-Rhodes is a fearless and natural-born explorer. Kimberley led the first astrobiology surveys of the Taklimakan high-altitude deserts and salt lakes in western China and field-tested Mars rovers in the Atacama Desert. Her current work seeks to apply AI/ML to predict biogeochemical patterns/spatial and functional ecology of microbial communities in extreme environments to hone the search for biosignatures on other worlds.
Text: Field astrobiology, whether on our own world or faraway planets, is not for the faint-hearted, and Kimberley Warren-Rhodes is a fearless and natural-born explorer. Kimberley led the first astrobiology surveys of the Taklimakan high-altitude deserts and salt lakes in western China and field-tested Mars rovers in the Atacama Desert. Her current work seeks to apply AI/ML to predict biogeochemical patterns/spatial and functional ecology of microbial communities in extreme environments to hone the search for biosignatures on other worlds, especially Mars. #notjustaliens
At the SETI Institute, we have scientists specializing in processing massive data sets, including Dr. Jeffrey Smith.
Jeff began his academic passion in Accelerator Physics, building a cyclotron - a small particle accelerator - as an undergraduate. After turning his attention to the stars, he is centrally involved in a project to develop an automated pipeline to identify bolides (exploding meteors) in weather satellite data.
Next up on #notjustaliens... Dr. Janice Bishop is a chemist and planetary scientist who explores Mars and other planetary bodies using spectroscopy and geochemistry.
She studies the spectral fingerprints of minerals and analog materials in the lab to generate a spectral library for identifying these through remote sensing.
One current project involves identifying and characterizing several unique outcrops of clays, carbonates, and sulfates on Mars that define formerly habitable sites. #scicomm
Next up in our #notjustaliens campaign is instrument scientist Doug Caldwell (@dacmess), who works on the search for exoplanets.
Doug specializes in optical CCD instrument definition, design, testing, characterization, and calibration.
He recently served as the Instrument Scientist for NASA's Kepler Mission and is currently a Pipeline Support Scientist for the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Mission.
Our research is #notjustaliens! We seek to "understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe", which examines all aspects of astrophysics, astrobiology, and planetary science.
Meet Dr. Uma Gorti, who joined the SETI Institute in 2008 and is mainly interested in star and planet formation. Such studies will help us understand the conditions under which planets form, the likelihood of planet formation, and hence, the potential for life.
Background: Diagonal division between black, starry sky and SETI blue. Text: Uma Gorti joined the SETI Institute's Carl Sagan Center in 2008 as a Principal Investigator and is mainly interested in star and planet formation. She is currently working on understanding how planet-forming disks evolve and is developing physical and chemical models that can be used to interpret observations from telescopes like ALMA, JWST, and future facilities. Such studies will help us understand the conditions under which planets form, the likelihood of planet formation, and hence, the potential for life in different star-forming environments. #notjustaliens