Dr. Claudio Maccone, Technical Director of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and a frequent visitor to ASTRON, was recently elected Chair of the IAA SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence ) Permanent Committee. The primary goal of the IAA Permanent SETI Committee is to examine all aspects of possible future contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, with special reference to international issues and activities. These aspects include technical efforts to find evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence, as well as the social consequences of such a discovery. In addition, the Committee promotes the interest and eventual involvement of students in its work, primarily through education initiatives, the Internet, and the mass-media. In support of the Academy's advisory role to the United Nations, the Permanent Committee has developed international protocols for activities to be undertaken in the event of verified extra-terrestrial contact.
Claudio (pictured above) succeeds Dr. Seth Shostak (SETI Institute) who faithfully chaired the SETI PC for many years. Dr. Paul Shuch was elected as the new vice-chair. Prof. Michael Garrett (ASTRON) was also elected as a new member of the SETI PC.
The next meeting of the PC is scheduled to take place this week at the the 64th International Astronautical Congress, to be held in September in Beijing. One of Claudio's first challenges will be to promote adoption by the IAA, and eventually the UN, of the Committee's most recent update to these post-detection protocols.
For more information, consult the SETI PC's public website at: http://iaaseti.org
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