While many people wonder if extraterrestrial (ET) intelligent life-forms exist, few of us have the training and tools to conduct our own search. But Gerrit L. Verschuur, PhD, does. For over forty years, Verschuur kept a journal of his thoughts, questions, and pioneering work in the astronomical search for radio signals from ET.
Is Anyone Out There? is Verschuur's autobiographical account of his journey into the unknowns of human experience. The first radio astronomer to conduct a search for radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) using the world's largest radio telescopes, Verschuur published his results in a technical journal edited by Carl Sagan.
However, over the next several years, he began to doubt humankind's ability to receive alien radio signals-and this belief produced a virulent reaction from colleagues who wanted NASA to invest more money in the search. Instead, Verschuur dedicated his life to looking for other ways to confirm the existence of ETI using alternative methods for making contact-including communication with the only ETI we unequivocally know exists: dolphins.
This candid telling of a scientist's search for ETI will captivate anyone who wonders if we are truly alone in the universe.
About the Author: Gerrit L. Verschuur, PhD, began working as a professional radio astronomer after earning his doctorate in 1965 from the University of Manchester in England. He spent the bulk of his research career studying the nature of interstellar hydrogen gas. He also ran a major planetarium in Boulder, Colorado, and has written and lectured extensively on astronomical topics for lay audiences.
Apart from his work in astronomy, Verschuur has been elected three times to serve on the Board of Commissioners in the City of Lakeland, Tennessee. He has also worked as a consultant to WS Packaging, a large Wisconsin corporation, helping the company invent and patent several potentially useful devices. He is most proud of having invented a device that can read bar codes hidden inside unopened envelopes.
