Establishment

The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) formally established a committee for SETI science as far back as the early 1970s. Over the decades, it has variously been known as the IAA SETI Permanent Study Group (SPSG), the IAA SETI Permanent Committee (PC) and most recently as the IAA SETI Committee (SC). The Committee currently operates under the IAA Commission on Space Physical Sciences.

Click here to obtain, in Portable Document Format, the Proposal which established this Committee during its 2000 incarnation as a Study Group.

 

Terms of Reference

SETI is an acronym for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The primary goal is to examine all aspects of possible future contact with extraterrestrial civilisations, 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. The Committee organises SETI symposia at the Int. Astronautics Congress, and promotes the involvement of students in this work. 

View Complete Terms of Reference

Leadership

The SETI Committee is chaired by a Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. Its membership draws from members of the Basic Sciences section of the Academy, as well as other Sections, but is not restricted solely to Academy members. Prospective members are nominated by the Chair, and confirmed by the Committee as a whole, to serve a five-year, renewable term. Prospective members are chosen on the basis of their involvement in the SETI discipline, their contributions to SETI science or social science, and their willingness to serve actively as a member of the Committee. Current members of the Committee are listed on this Website. The current leadership of this Committee is as follows:

 

• Chair: Michael Garrett, UK
• Co-Vice-Chair: Andrew Siemion, USA
• Co-Vice-Chair: Carol Oliver, Australia
• Secretary: Lori Walton, Canada

The terms of office and selection criteria for members of the SETI Committee leadership team may be found here.

Mission

The primary task of the Committee is to organize and conduct two SETI sessions at the annual International Astronautical Congresses. Committee members also conduct workshops and Cosmic Studies for the International Academy of Astronautics, and publish papers on topics related to the scientific Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.

 

Recent Status Reports

The IAA SETI Committee meets at least once per year. The chair's notes from the most recent meetings are available at this link. The Chair of the Committee provides a Status Report to the International Academy of Astronautics annually. Our most recent Status Report can be downloaded by following this link.