York University
Member of the SETI Institute Science Advisory Board
Kathryn Denning, PhD, is a Canadian anthropologist and archaeologist. She specializes in the long view of humanity's history, both past and future, and is particularly interested in ethics -- how we engage with other humans across time, and how we engage with other species, including the extinct, extant, and as-yet-unknown. All this combines in her long-term research focus on humanity's cultural expansion into space, how we imagine our future beyond Earth, and how we anticipate other life that has yet to be discovered.
Kathryn’s degrees (McMaster, Sheffield) were in four-field anthropology and archaeology. After early work focusing on the public understanding of archaeology, her research turned primarily to outer space. She has collaborated with scientists at the NASA Astrobiology Institute and SETI Institute, guest lectures regularly at the International Space University, and is a member of the International Academic of Astronautics SETI Permanent Committee. On the subject of space, ethics, and the public, she regularly speaks to journalists, including Wired, New Yorker, NYT, Motherboard, Space.com, BBC, and participates in public events such as the Royal Society, New York Festival of Science, and SXSW. She is passionate about fair and accurate space education for all.