--- title: "SETI Scientist: Nobody Takes Alien Hunting Seriously" description: "Intelligent Life Anthony Beasley, the director of the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Virginia, told the BBC that the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) should be taken far more seriously and be given the governmental support and funding it deserves. His comments were made at the American Association for the Advancement of Science […]" date: "2020-02-17" modified: "2020-02-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/seti-scientist-alien-hunting-funding" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "extraterrestrial" - "extraterrestrial life" - "SETI" - "the digest" --- # SETI Scientist: Nobody Takes Alien Hunting Seriously ![The director of the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory told the BBC that alien hunting for extra terrestrials should be taken more seriously.]() *\Image: John Fowler/Victor Tangermann\* ## Intelligent Life Anthony Beasley, director of the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Virginia, told the *BBC* that the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) should be taken far more seriously, and given the governmental support and funding it deserves. His comments were made at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Seattle last week. It was "time for SETI to come in from the cold and be properly integrated to all other areas of astronomy," Beasley told the *BBC*. "We would like to see SETI transformed from a small cabal of scientists and engineers in California, isolated from academia to one that is as much an integral part of astronomy and astrophysics as any other field of inquiry," he added. ## Very Large Search The news comes after one of the largest radio telescopes in the world, the Very Large Array in New Mexico, [announced]() a collaboration with the SETI Institute, a privately funded non-profit based in California, last week. Despite the collaboration, funding for efforts to specifically look for intelligent life has been pretty minimal when compared to much larger and extremely expensive scientific endeavors, such as the Large Hadron Collider. "I'd feel far more confident arguing the case for SETI than for a particle accelerator," British senior cosmologist Martin Rees told the *BBC*. "SETI searches are surely worthwhile, despite the heavy odds against success, because the stakes are so high," he added. **READ MORE:** [Astronomers want public funds for intelligent life search]() \[*BBC*\] **More on aliens:** *[Harvard Prof: Deep Space Signal May Be From Alien Civilization]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()