Frank Drake (1930–2022).
documentedpersonSETI & Technosignatures
"Father of SETI." Ran Project Ozma (1960), formulated the Drake Equation (1961), co-designed the Arecibo message (1974). Long-time SETI Institute figure.
Harvard-trained radio astronomer who joined NRAO in 1958. In 1960 he conducted Project Ozma, the first systematic radio search for ETI, then wrote the Drake Equation in 1961 to anchor the first SETI conference at Green Bank. He helped design the 1974 Arecibo message and championed the Allen Telescope Array. He attended the 2015 Breakthrough Listen launch. Died 2022 at age 92.