The Invitation to ETI Leadership Team
The ability of advanced extraterrestrial intelligence to monitor Earth's telecommunications technology (whether through robotic or other means), a concept central to the Invitation to ETI initiative, is based upon the now widely held hypothesis that Earth is a young civilization, and that our cosmic companions are likely to be much older than we, perhaps in the millions of years. The implications of this dawning realization are significant, and have captured the interest and attention of Invitation to ETI founder Allen Tough. In August 2005, Dr. Tough decided to step down from the day-to-day operation of this project, in order to spend more of his time contemplating the implications of million-year-old extraterrestrial civilizations. The project Leadership Team is currently organized as follows:
- Dr. Allen Tough, who founded the Invitation to ETI in 1996, served as Coordinator and Chief Scientist for the project's first dozen years. He remains onboard as owner and benefactor, having appointed the associates listed below to senior leadership positions. "I want time to complete my fundamental re-thinking of the phenomenon we are studying," reports Dr. Tough. "Over the past several years, this project has generated a wealth of ideas about the major characteristics of advanced ETI. Now I will seek to evaluate these ideas, and to integrate the best ones."
- Dr. H. Paul Shuch, who designed the project's current website, has been appointed Principal Investigator for Invitation to ETI. Paul served as Executive Director of The SETI League, Inc. since it was founded in 1994, and has relevant research experience as Principal Investigator for several SETI League initiatives. He has served as PI for various NASA and other US Government research grants. Paul directs the Invitation's ongoing research into the nature of extraterrestrial intelligence.
- Ms. Susan Tough serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Invitation to ETI, providing both longterm leadership and attending to day-to-day operations.
- As Webmaster for the Invitation to ETI, Mr. Paul Tough is responsible for website updates, maintenance, and hosting.
- Dr. Kathryn Denning serves as Distinguished Advisor to the Invitation to ETI, providing guidance and assistance with further developing its scientific mission.
Invitation to ETI signatories, the press, the general public, and (especially!) advanced extraterrestrial intelligences are encouraged to communicate with any of the Leadership Team members, who will forward your correspondence to the other signatories, as appropriate.
