In the literature on the problem of Extraterrestrial Civilizations, besides the term SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), the term CETI (Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence) has also long been used. Historically, the term CETI appeared earlier. It was proposed by Professor Rudolph Pesek, Chairman of the Astronautics Commission of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.
Pesek was the first Chairman of the CETI Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). The term CETI persisted until about the mid-1970s, when it was gradually replaced by the current acronym, SETI. The reason for this substitution was probably a belief that, before talking about establishing communications with extraterrestrial civilizations, these must first be detected. Consequently, the search must precede the communication. Eventually, the CETI Committee of the IAA was renamed the IAA SETI Committee. It now exists as the SETI Permanent Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics.
| Year | Lecturer | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Amri Wandel | On the abundance of extra terrestrial life after Kepler |
| 2014 | Michael Garrett | SETI, Big Data, and the Next Generation of Radio Telescopes |
| 2013 | Shin-Ya Narusawa | Project Dorothy: Joint Worldwide SETI Observation |
| 2012 | No Pesek Lecture given | |
| 2011 | Martin Dominick | Exploration Rather Than Speculation |
| 2009 | Myung-Hyun Rhee | The SETI programs in Korea: progress report |
| 2008 | Wm. Jack Welch | The Allen Telescope Array: the first widefield, panoramic, snapshot radio camera for radio astronomy and SETI |
| 2007 | Govind Swarup | GMRT, SKA and SETI |
| 2006 | Claudio Maccone | SETI, Extrasolar Planets Searches, and Interstellar Flight: When Are They Going To Merge? |
| 2003 | Claudio Maccone | Innovative SETI by the KLT |
| 2002 | Frank Drake | Promising New Approaches in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence |
| 2000 | Wm. Jack Welch | Building SETI's First Dedicated Observatory |