As a Berkeley graduate student, Sr. Tarter became involved in a small search for radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations using the Hat Creek Observatory 85-foot telescope.
That project, SERENDIP, underwent many stops and starts and it provided a natural introduction to the then newly formed Search for the (SETI) Extraterrestrial Intelligence Program Office at NASA.
It also provided the basis for the film “Contact” staring Jodi Foster.
Dr. Tarter received her undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley, where her major field of study was theoretical high-energy astrophysics.
Today Dr. Tarter serves as Director of the Institute's Centre for SETI Research.
She holds the endowed Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI in Mountain View, California Ames Research Center.
As a Principal Investigator for the non-profit SETI Institute in Mountain View, Dr. Tarter served as Project Scientist for NASA's High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS), until its termination by Congress in October 1993.
As such, she had the opportunity to meld together old and new engineering skills with a knowledge of the observable universe, in order to conduct and plan for thorough observations of the sky through a set of narrow band and pulse sensitive filters never before systematically employed by astronomers.
Dr. Tarter travels globally to present lectures and papers at numerous scientific symposia and colloquia.
She has published scores of technical articles, has been elected to many professional societies, and has served on a number of scientific advisory committees.
She has a strong interest in educating the next generation of scientists.
She was P.I. for a NSF-funded award winning series of Teachers Guides on Life in the Universe for middle and elementary schools.
Currently she is P.I. on an NSF grant in collaboration with colleagues at NASA Ames Research Center, the California Academy of Sciences, and San Francisco State University to produce a 9th grade integrated science curriculum called Voyages Through Time that is based on the overarching theme of evolution.
In March 1993 she received two Public Service Medals from NASA and a Group Achievement Award for her contributions to NASA's HRMS Project.
In February 1997 Dr. Tarter received the Chabot Observatory Person of the Year Award.
Most recently, Dr. Tarter has been awarded the distinction of AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Fellow.
Dr. Tarter joins a distinguished group of individuals elevated to this rank for their efforts to advance science or foster applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.
