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To see Fall 2003 Schedule: click here

The 14th Public Joseph & Sophia Konopinski Memorial Lecture in Physics

Dr. Jill Tarter
Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI
Director of the Center for SETI Research

Tuesday, March 9, 2004, 7:30 p.m.

Life, the Universe, and SETI In a Nutshell

Another summer, another “blockbuster” movie about aliens... but do they really exist? The real scientific search for evidence of life, and particularly intelligent life, elsewhere in the cosmos is just as exciting as the “reel” version, and a lot more logical. So far, we have only life-as-we-know-it to guide our speculations and observations. But new technologies, a new appreciation of the tenacity of life and a growing respect for the world of microbes, new spacecraft and missions, and new observatory facilities are rapidly expanding our viewpoint and surprising us. We can expect more surprises. In the next few decades we will take a much closer look at the places within our solar system where liquid water (even vast oceans) may exist and harbor life. We will probe the closest stars to see if other ‘Earths' and ‘biospheres' exist. SETI will broaden its strategies and extend its range out into the galaxy, looking for evidence of someone else's technology. We don't know what we will find; that's part of the excitement.

Whittenberger Auditorium -- Indiana Memorial Union
Followed by an open reception at the University Club, Indiana Memorial Union