Douglas Vakoch | |
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| Born | Douglas A. Vakoch June 16, 1961 Minnesota, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Known for | METI, SETI, Astrobiology |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | SETI, Interstellar message composition, Psychology, Ecocriticism |
| Website | meti |
Douglas A. Vakoch (/ˈvɑːˌkoʊtʃ/ VAH-kohtch;[1] born June 16, 1961) is an American astrobiologist, search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) researcher, psychologist, and president of METI International, a nonprofit research and educational organization devoted to transmitting intentional signals to extraterrestrial civilizations. Vakoch led METI's participation in Sónar Calling GJ 273b, which transmitted a series of interstellar messages to Luyten's Star, located 12.4 light years from Earth. Vakoch advocates ongoing transmission projects, arguing that this does not increase risks of an alien invasion as suggested by British cosmologist Stephen Hawking. He has participated in several SETI observation programs, and after sixteen years at the SETI Institute, where he was director of Interstellar Message Composition, Vakoch founded METI International. He has edited over two dozen books in SETI, astrobiology, the psychology of space exploration, ecocriticism, COVID, and transgender studies. Vakoch helped design the message included on NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft. He is general editor of three book series in ecocriticism and in the intersection of space and society. Vakoch has appeared widely on television and radio as a commentator on SETI and astrobiology. He is an emeritus professor of clinical psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).
- ^ "How to Design an Interstellar Message for Extraterrestrials". YouTube. November 11, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2021.