Editing Jill Tarter

{{Short description|American astronomer}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name                      = Jill Tarter
| image                     = Jill Tarter 418407 by Christopher Michel 1282025.jpg
| caption                   = Tarter at her home in 2025
| birth_name                = Jill Cornell
| birth_date                = {{birth date and age|1944|1|16}}
| birth_place               = 
| death_date                = 
| death_place               = 
| fields                    = [[Radio astronomy]]
| education                 = [[Cornell University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[University of California, Berkeley]] ([[Master of Science|MS]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
| thesis_title              = The Interaction of Gas and Galaxies within Galaxy Clusters
| thesis_year               = 1975
| doctoral_advisor          = [[Joseph Silk]]
| known_for                 = [[SETI]] research
| spouse                    = [[C. Bruce Tarter]]<br>Jack Welch
| children                  = 1 daughter
| website                   = {{URL|www.seti.org/our-scientists/jill-tarter}}
}}
'''Jill Cornell Tarter''' (born January 16, 1944) is an American [[astronomer]] best known for her work on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence ([[SETI]]). Tarter is the former [[wikt:director|director]] of the Center for SETI Research, holding the [[Bernard M. Oliver]] Chair for SETI at the [[SETI Institute]].{{R|"SETI"}}{{R|"NYT-20120618"}}{{R|"foxnews52212"}}
In 2002, ''[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]'' magazine recognized her  as one of the 50 most important women in science.<ref name="Svitil">{{cite news|last1=Svitil|first1=Kathy|title=The 50 Most Important Women in Science|url=http://discovermagazine.com/2002/nov/feat50/|access-date=1 May 2019|publisher=Discover|date=13 November 2002}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Tarter grew up in [[New York (state)|New York State]], and graduated from [[Eastchester High School]] in 1961. She was elected to its alumni association hall of fame in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|title=EASTCHESTER HS/Alumni Association HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES|url=https://district.eastchesterschools.org/m/file.php/1/Hall_of_Fame_inductees_1.pdf|access-date=22 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226091846/https://district.eastchesterschools.org/m/file.php/1/Hall_of_Fame_inductees_1.pdf|archive-date=26 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Prior to his death when she was twelve years old, Tarter's father was an early inspiration who encouraged her curiosity when she resisted suggestions that she follow pursuits considered more appropriate for a girl and announced that she wanted to be an engineer. On family trips to Florida with her father, she would look up at the dark skies and wonder who or what might be out there.{{R|"Scoles"}}{{R|"Cosier"}}

Tarter earned a Bachelor of Engineering Physics degree as an undergraduate at [[Cornell University]] (1965) as the only woman in her graduating class of 300 in the engineering college. Her professional interest in astronomy emerged as she pursued a [[Master's degree]] (1971) and [[PhD]] (1975) at the [[University of California at Berkeley]].{{R|"Scoles"}}{{R|"Cosier"}}{{R|"Koren"}} In her PhD dissertation, she coined the term "[[brown dwarf]]" while researching small-mass objects that fail to stably [[Nuclear fusion|fuse hydrogen]].{{R|"JillTarter2014"}}

==Astronomy career==
[[File:Jill Tarter Life Beyond Earth CSICon 2016.jpg|thumb|"Life Beyond Earth" [[CSICon]] 2016]]
Tarter has worked on a number of major scientific projects, most relating to the search for [[extraterrestrial life]]. As a [[graduate student]], she was inspired to do SETI research by the [[Project Cyclops|Cyclops Report]]. [[Charles Stuart Bowyer|Stuart Bowyer]] gave her the report to read when Bowyer discovered that Tarter could program the then-outdated [[PDP-8|PDP-8/S]] computer that had been donated by Jack Welch for Bowyer's SETI a project at [[Hat Creek Radio Observatory]]. She worked with Bowyer on the radio-search project [[SERENDIP]] and created the corresponding [[backronym]], "Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations".{{R|"Scoles"}} She was project scientist for NASA's [[High Resolution Microwave Survey]] (HRMS) in 1992 and 1993 and subsequently director of [[Project Phoenix (SETI)|Project Phoenix]] (HRMS reconfigured) under the auspices of the SETI Institute. She was co-creator with [[Margaret Turnbull]] of the [[HabCat]] in 2002, a principal component of Project Phoenix. Tarter has published dozens of technical papers and lectures extensively both on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and the need for proper science education. She had spent 35 years in the quest for extraterrestrial life when she announced her retirement in 2012.{{R|"NYT-20120618"}}{{R|"foxnews52212"}}<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hayes|first1=Jacqui|title=Silent witness|url=http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/3593/silent-witness?page=0%2C0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405171149/http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/3593/silent-witness?page=0%2C0|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 April 2012|website=COSMOS|publisher=Cosmos Magazine|access-date=22 February 2018}}</ref>

On October 20, 2006, Tarter appeared on the [[Point of Inquiry]] podcast to discuss the question: "Are we alone?" Tarter stated, "Humans will have a different view about being human if and when we know the answer to the 'Are we alone?' question."<ref>{{cite podcast
| url = http://www.pointofinquiry.org/jill_tarter_are_we_alone
| title = Jill Tarter - Are We Alone?
| website = www.pointofinquiry.org
| publisher = [[Center for Inquiry]]
| host = [[DJ Grothe]]
| date = October 20, 2006
| access-date = May 18, 2014
| archive-date = June 12, 2018
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162116/http://www.pointofinquiry.org/jill_tarter_are_we_alone
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

In 2011, Tarter delivered a talk, "Intelligent Life in the Universe: Is Anybody Out There?", at the first [[Starmus Festival]] in the Canary Islands. The Festival, founded by astronomer [[Garik Israelian]], was a blend of astronomy, allied sciences, music, and art. Tarter subsequently joined the Starmus Board of Directors, along with Israelian, astrophysicist and [[Queen (band)|Queen]] founding guitarist [[Brian May]], theoretical physicist [[Stephen Hawking]], evolutionary biologist [[Richard Dawkins]], and others. Her 2011 talk was published in the book ''Starmus: 50 Years of Man in Space''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/starmus-festival-and-stephen-hawking-launch-the-book-starmus-50-years-of-man-in-space-274263251.html|title=Starmus Festival and Stephen Hawking Launch the Book "Starmus, 50 Years of Man in Space"|first=Starmus Festival and Promotur-Canary Islands Tourism|last=Board|access-date=April 26, 2017}}</ref> Tarter is a member of the [[CuriosityStream]] Advisory Board and the [[Space For Humanity|Space for Humanity]] Board of Advisors.<ref>{{cite web|title=CuriosityStream Advisory Board|url=https://curiositystream.com/board|access-date=31 August 2015}}</ref>

In May 2013, the [[Science Laureates of the United States Act of 2013]] was introduced into Congress. Tarter was listed by one commentator as a possible nominee for the position of Science Laureate, if the act were to pass.<ref name=wiredMay>{{cite news|last=Marlow|first=Jeffrey|title=The Science Laureate of the United States|url=https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/05/the-science-laureate-of-the-united-states/|access-date=12 September 2013|newspaper=[[Wired Magazine]]|date=9 May 2013}}</ref>

In 2017, science journalist Sarah Scoles published a biography of Tarter and a history of SETI, called ''Making Contact: Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pegasusbooks.com/books/making-contact-9781681774411-hardcover|title=Making Contact|website=pegasusbooks.com|access-date=2017-08-14 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502011922/http://pegasusbooks.com/books/making-contact-9781681774411-hardcover |archivedate=2017-05-02 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Honors and awards==
Tarter's work in [[astrobiology]] and her success as a female scientist have garnered achievement awards from a number of scientific organizations.
* Awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Women in Aerospace in 1989.{{R|"SETI"}}
* Elected a Fellow of the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/about/csi_fellows_and_staff/ |title=CSI Fellows and Staff |access-date=August 7, 2011}}</ref>
* [[Chabot Space and Science Center|Chabot Observatory]] named her their person of the year in 1997.{{R|"SETI"}}
* Was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|title=Past Honorees|url=http://www.techfestival.org/past-honorees/|publisher=Telluride Tech Festival|access-date=October 15, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017185018/http://www.techfestival.org/past-honorees/|archive-date=October 17, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> 
* Was elected a Fellow of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] in 2002 and a Fellow of the [[California Academy of Sciences]] in 2003.
* Received the [[Adler Planetarium]] Women in Space Science Award in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|title=Women in Space Science|url=http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/join-give/fundraising-events/women-in-space-science/|website=Adler Planetarium|access-date=7 February 2018|archive-date=11 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211071658/https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/join-give/fundraising-events/women-in-space-science/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by [[Time (magazine)|''Time Magazine'']] in 2004.<ref name=Time>''[[TIME Magazine]]'': {{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1970858_1970909_1971711,00.html |title=TIME 100: Jill Tarter |access-date=October 27, 2008 |magazine=Time |date=April 26, 2004 |archive-date=August 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817053635/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1970858_1970909_1971711,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Received two public service medals from NASA.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/04/15/tarter/index.html |title=Scientist probes outer space for aliens |access-date=October 27, 2008 | work=CNN | date=April 19, 2004}}</ref>
* Asteroid 74824 Tarter (1999 TJ16) was named and approved by the [[International Astronomical Union]]’s Small Bodies Naming Committee in 2005.{{R|"SETI"}}
* Received [[Wonderfest]]'s [[Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://wonderfest.org/sagan-prize/sagan-prize-recipients/ |title=Sagan Prize Recipients |work=wonderfest.org |year=2011 |access-date=September 10, 2011}}</ref>
* Recipient of a 2009 [[TED Prize]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jill Tarter|url=https://www.ted.com/speakers/jill_cornell_tarter|website=TED|access-date=22 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Trost|first1=Matthew|title=Exclusive interview with TED Prize-winner Jill Tarter of SETI|url=https://blog.ted.com/an_interview_wi/|website=TED|access-date=22 February 2018|date=2009-02-20}}</ref>
* Elected a Legacy Fellow of the [[American Astronomical Society]] in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/aas-fellows|title=AAS Fellows|publisher=AAS|access-date=30 September 2020}}</ref>
* Elected a member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/jill-tarter|title=Jill Tarter bio|publisher=AAAS|access-date=23 May 2021}}</ref>

==Popular culture==
Tarter's astronomical work is illustrated in [[Carl Sagan]]'s novel ''[[Contact (novel)|Contact]]''. In the [[Contact (1997 American film)|film version of ''Contact'']], the protagonist Ellie Arroway is played by [[Jodie Foster]]. Tarter conversed with the actress for months before and during filming, and Arroway was "largely based" on Tarter's work.{{R|"Space.com"}} She has also been featured in John Boswell's ''Symphony of Science'' music video, "The Poetry of Reality (An Anthem for Science)".<ref>John Boswell (melodysheep), {{YouTube|9Cd36WJ79z4|"The Poetry of Reality (An Anthem for Science)"}}, February 25, 2010.</ref>

Prior to [[SETIcon|Seticon II]] in 2012 Tarter addressed concerns about alien invasion, like those seen in [[science fiction film]]s, in particular those expressed by [[Stephen Hawking]]. Correlated with Hawking's reservations is his belief that humans should not attempt to broadcast signals in order to contact alien civilizations ([[Active SETI]]). Tarter thinks that aliens evolved enough to communicate with and travel to Earth will be long-lived enough to have needed to grow beyond violent tendencies.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Orwig|first1=Jessica|title=A world leading scientist on the search for extraterrestrials pointed out a flaw in Stephen Hawking's fear of finding intelligent aliens|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/jill-tarter-says-stephen-hawking-is-wrong-about-aliens-2016-1|website=Business Insider|date=January 20, 2016|access-date=8 February 2018}}</ref>{{R|"SETIcon"}}
: “Often the aliens of science fiction say more about us than they do about themselves.... While Sir [sic] Stephen Hawking warned that alien life might try to conquer or colonize Earth, I respectfully disagree. If aliens were able to visit Earth that would mean they would have technological capabilities sophisticated enough not to need slaves, food, or other planets. If aliens were to come here it would be simply to explore. Considering the age of the Universe, we probably wouldn’t be their first extraterrestrial encounter, either. We should look at movies like ‘Men in Black III,’ ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Battleship’ as great entertainment and metaphors for our own fears, but we should not consider them harbingers of alien visitation.”{{R|"SETIcon"}}

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="SETI">{{cite web|title=Jill Tarter|url=https://seti.org/users/jill-tarter|website=SETI Institute|access-date=8 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208165725/https://seti.org/users/jill-tarter|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 February 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="Scoles">{{cite book|last1=Scoles|first1=Sarah|title=Making Contact: Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence|date=2017|publisher=Pegasus Books|location=New York, NY|isbn=9781681774411}}</ref>
<ref name="NYT-20120618">{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |title=A Career Waiting for E.T. to Phone |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/science/seti-research-head-retires-after-long-search-for-alien-life.html |date=18 June 2012 |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |access-date=19 June 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="foxnews52212">{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/05/22/alien-hunter-retires-after-35-year-quest-for-et/?test=latestnews|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525074821/http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/05/22/alien-hunter-retires-after-35-year-quest-for-et/?test=latestnews|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 25, 2012|title=Alien hunter retires after 35-year quest for E.T.|publisher=[[Fox News]]|date=May 22, 2012|access-date=May 22, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Space.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/peopleinterviews/tarter_profile_991112.html |title=Dr. Jill Tarter: Looking to Make 'Contact' |website=[[Space.com]] |access-date=October 27, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005020231/http://www.space.com/peopleinterviews/tarter_profile_991112.html |archive-date=October 5, 2008 }}</ref>
<ref name="JillTarter2014">{{citation |last=Tarter |first=Jill |chapter=Brown is Not a Color: Introduction of the Term 'Brown Dwarf' |pages=19–24 |editor-last=Joergens |editor-first=Viki |title=50 Years of Brown Dwarfs – From Prediction to Discovery to Forefront of Research |series=Astrophysics and Space Science Library |volume=401 |publisher=Springer |date=2014 |isbn=978-3-319-01162-2 |chapter-url=https://www.springer.com/astronomy/book/978-3-319-01161-5|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-01162-2_3 }}</ref>
<ref name="Cosier">{{cite web|last1=Cosier|first1=Susan|title=10 Questions for Jill Tarter, Astronomer|url=https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/10-questions-for-jill-tarter-astronomer/|website=Science Friday|publisher=Science Friday Initiative|date=January 29, 2014|access-date=6 February 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="Koren">{{cite web|last1=Koren|first1=Marina|title=Jill Tarter, Feminist Cosmic Icon|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/07/seti-jill-tarter/533322/|website=The Atlantic| access-date=6 February 2018|date=2017-07-12}}</ref>
<ref name="SETIcon">{{cite web|title=SETI Institute's Jill Tarter takes issue with Stephen Hawking, MIB3, Prometheus and Battleship|url=https://www.seti.org/node/1288|website=SETI Institute |date=June 2012 |access-date=25 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225143421/https://www.seti.org/node/1288|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 February 2018}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://vimeo.com/143032860/ Tarter featured at Creative Class] 
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060625000546/http://seminars.moose.cc/salt-0200407-tarter/salt-0200407-tarter.ogg Lecture about long-term SETI strategies] presented to the [[Long Now Foundation]] ([[Ogg Vorbis]] format).
*{{YouTube|aqsI1HZCgUM|Talk on the Allen Telescope Array at the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures}}
*[https://onbeing.org/programs/jill-tarter-it-takes-a-cosmos-to-make-a-human/ 'It Takes a Cosmos to Make a Human'] Jill Tarter interviewed by Krista Tippett of The On Being Project, 2021; audio with transcript.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarter, Jill}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American women astronomers]]
[[Category:American astrobiologists]]
[[Category:Cornell University College of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:Eastchester High School alumni]]
[[Category:Search for extraterrestrial intelligence]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:American skeptics]]
[[Category:20th-century American astronomers]]
[[Category:21st-century American astronomers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women scientists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women scientists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Astronomical Society]]