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SETI League, Inc.

Also Known As: SETI League

PO Box 555
433 Liberty St
Little Ferry, NJ 07643

www.setileague.org

Mission and Programs

Mission

To encourage and support the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence by:

1. attracting a wide range of amateur and professional scientists into the SETI community;

2. developing technologies to assist the SETI experimenter in assembling a workable radio or optical SETI observatory;

3. disseminating hardware and software designs in support of SETI;

4. coordinating SETI experimenters worldwide in conducting a thorough sky survey;

5. providing a variety of forums and media for wide-ranging communication among SETI experimenters, enthusiasts, and organizations;

6. designing, assembling, and operating advanced optical and radio telescopes;

7. identifying and publicizing potential spin-off applications of SETI technologies; and

8 .raising public consciousness as to the importance and significance of a broad-based Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence that encompasses a variety of strategies.

Programs

Additional Comments from the Organization

Recognizing that confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence will change forever our view of humanity's place in the cosmos, The SETI League, Inc. envisions a worldwide network of amateur and professional scientists working together to hasten our entry into the galactic community.

Since the NASA SETI program was cancelled by Congress in 1993, The SETI League and other nonprofit organizations have been privatizing the search for other intelligent life in space.

Among its various technical programs, The SETI League conducts Project Argus, a global, coordinated all-sky survey for radio and optical signals of intelligent extra-terrestrial origin, which will ultimately involve 5000 small radio telescopes worldwide, built, financed and operated by our members. When fully operational, Project Argus will do something NASA SETI never contemplated: see in all directions at once, so that no point in space shall evade our gaze.

Who We Are

The SETI League is participatory science. We are the international grass-roots organization dedicated to privatizing the electromagnetic Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.

NTEE Code

Goals and Results


Accomplishments for Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2007

  1. Science/Technology Programs: * Coordinated 135 Project Argus radio telescopes in 26 countries, built and operated by our members on all seven continents, in their SETI and astrophysical observations. Argus stations analyzed and cataloged several new candidate signals during 2007. * Members' stations monitored telemetry signals and science beacons from several NASA and ESA interplanetary space probes. * Provided Committee leadership (as co-chairman) to the SETI Permanent Study Group of the International Academy of Astronautics. * 65 SETI League members continue to lend computer support to the SETI@home distributed computing experiment, through the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Networked Computing (BOINC). * Upgraded the W2ETI Moonbounce Beacon with new antennas (ongoing). When completed, this will provide improved microwave calibration signals to the world's amateur and professional radio telescopes. * Coordinated and archived four closed technical email lists. * Inducted one additional amateur radio astronomer into the Extra-Terrestrial Century Club, for a total of fourteen ETCC honorees.
  2. Public Education Programs: * Executive Director delivered nine public lectures in four countries on three continents, dealing with radio astronomy techniques and related SETI science. * Our members coordinated the 2007 Technical Conference of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA), a SETI League affiliate which our Executive Director serves as Vice President, editing and contributing to the Proceedings for that Conference. * Executive Director served as Director of Education for the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), a SETI League affiliate. * Executive Director published seven SETI technical articles in scholarly journals and the popular press, plus three SETI related papers in Conference proceedings. * SETI League webmaster provided webmastering services to the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers, the International Academy of Astronautics SETI Permanent Study Group, and Invitation to ETI. * Distributed several CD copies of "The SETI League Technical Manual" and "Tune In The Universe!", a radio amateur's guide to the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. * Distributed numerous print and CD copies of various SETI League Conference Proceedings. * Introduced two new music CDs including numerous SETI songs.
  3. Media and Outreach Programs: * Published four issues of SearchLites, the quarterly newsletter of The SETI League, Inc. * Coordinated and archived two open public email lists. * Distributed eight Press Releases and twelve Editorials to over 700 media outlets worldwide. * Filed 52 weekly updates to The SETI League's extensive website, bringing its total document count to over 6200 pages. * Several of our 63 volunteer Regional Coordinators in 48 countries conducted print and broadcast media briefings and interviews. * Executive Director granted print media and broadcast interviews in the US, Russia, Puerto Rico, India, and Germany, and appeared in television documentaries in Germany, France, and Netherlands. * Presented the thirteenth annual Giordano Bruno Memorial Award, the sixthth annual Orville N. Greene Service Award, and twelve SETI SuperStar Awards.

Objectives for Fiscal Year Beginning January 1, 2008

  1. Perform SETI observations from our members' 135 Project Argus stations worldwide, and from other facilities as they become available.
  2. Resume construction of the Very Small Array (VSA), a proof-of-concept prototype for our planned Array2k radio telescope facility.
  3. Complete improved antenna system to our microwave moonbounce beacon system, to provide real-time test and calibration signals to the world radio astronomy community, twelve hours per day year-round.

Self Assessment

Members share data for signal verification through our network of closed email lists, and post results to our Web site for collaborative analysis.

Chief Executive Profile

Executive Director Emeritus Dr. H. Paul Shuch, the aerospace engineer credited with the design of the world's first commercial home satellite TV receiver, received his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He has served as a professor of physics, astronomy, and engineering on various campuses for over three decades.

Paul is the author of more than 400 publications. His honors include the National Space Club's Dr. Robert H. Goddard Scholarship, the American Radio Relay League Technical Achievement Award, a Hertz Foundation Fellowship in the Applied Physical Sciences, the Hertz Doctoral Thesis Prize, the Central States VHF Society's John T. Chambers Memorial Award, a QST Cover Plaque Award, and the Dayton Technical Excellence Award. He is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, a Fellow of the Radio Club of America, a Fellow of the European Radio Astronomy Club, a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics, serves as co-chairman and Webmaster for the IAA's SETI Permanent Study Group, as vice-president and Webmaster for the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers, is a fellowship interviewer for the Hertz Foundation, a manuscript reviewer for several peer reviewed journals, has been an advisor to the National Science Foundation, and is a military program evaluator for the American Council on Education.

Financial Data

Revenues and Expenses: Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2006

Revenue
Contributions $0
Government Grants $0
Program Services $0
Investments $0
Special Events $0
Sales $0
Other $0
Total Revenue $12,568
Expenses
Program Services $8,678
Administration $5,477
Other $2,521
Total Expenditures $16,676
Net Gain/Loss $0

Balance Sheet: Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2006

Note: The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot long survive, but the types of assets and liabilities also must be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

  January 1, 2006 December 31, 2006 Change
Assets      
Cash & Equivalent $8,562 $4,454 ($4,108)
Accounts Receivable $0 $0 $0
Pledges & Grants Receivable $0 $0 $0
Receivables/Other $0 $0 $0
Inventories for Sale or Use $0 $0 $0
Investments/Securities $0 $0 $0
Investments/Other $0 $0 $0
Fixed Assets $0 $0 $0
Other $0 $0 $0
Total Assets $0 $4,454 $4,454
Liabilities      
Accounts Payable $0 $0 $0
Grants Payable $0 $0 $0
Deferred Revenue $0 $0 $0
Loans and Notes $0 $0 $0
Tax-Exempt Bond Liabilities $0 $0 $0
Other $0 $0 $0
Total Liabilities $0 $0 $0
Fund Balance $0 $0 $0

Financial Comments from the Organization

Full financial information is available online, at www.setileague.org/finances.

Donations above and beyond pledged grants and membership dues remain down more than 90% since September of 2001, forcing us to institute a number of cost-cutting measures and, hopefully, to improve operating efficiencies.

Basic Information