Jill Tarter.
documentedpersonSETI & Technosignatures
Astronomer, co-founder of the SETI Institute; led Project Phoenix and championed the Allen Telescope Array. Inspiration for Ellie Arroway in Contact.
Cornell- and Berkeley-trained, Tarter was drawn into SETI by the Project Cyclops report. She was project scientist for NASA's HRMS and director of Project Phoenix (1993–1999/2004), then drove the design and private funding of the Allen Telescope Array. A 2009 TED Prize winner, she retired as Center for SETI Research director in 2012 and is Chair Emeritus. She is a vocal proponent that SETI (confirmable astronomy) is categorically distinct from ufology.