The SETI Institute recently had the opportunity to celebrate the 2021 Drake Awards. Although the ceremony was conducted virtually, after having to cancel in 2020, bringing our community together for one night was a truly inspirational experience.
The award, named after Frank Drake, the astronomer who conducted the first modern experiment to seek extraterrestrial intelligence, honors those scientists and engineers who have made substantial contributions to the search for and understanding of life beyond Earth.
The 2021 Drake Awards mark the first time this SETI Institute award has simultaneously recognized the achievements of two people, a testament to the extraordinary contributions each has made to SETI Research.
In addition to the 2021 Drake Award nominees Paul Horowitz and Dan Werthimer, there were other special guests and honorees:
- Adam Savage hosted the evening, sharing both insights and humor
- Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society, presented the Drake Award to Paul Horowitz
- Jill Tarter, SETI Institute co-founder, presented the Drake Award to Dan Werthimer
- Frank Drake shared his reflections about Paul, Dan and SETI
- Past Drake Award recipients William Borucki, Victoria Meadows and Jason Wright shared their thoughts
- Janice Bishop, SETI Institute Senior Research Scientist, received the Carl Sagan Center’s Director’s Award
- The SETI Forward Award recognizing outstanding undergraduate interns studying astrobiology and SETI was presented to Karen Perez, Ellie White and Siddhant Sharma
- Undergraduate students Kierra Willk and Madeline Garner were recognized with the REU Award of Excellence
Bill Nye introduces 2021 Drake Awards recipient, Paul Horowitz.
If we were to discover evidence of life on another world, it would change the course of human history. Everybody would feel differently about being a living thing in the cosmos… What goes on at the SETI Institute could very well change the course of human history. (Bill Nye)
There are more habitable planets in the universe than there are grains of sand of all the beaches of Earth. If you don’t think there are living things out there, you’re crazy. (Paul Horowitz)
Jill Tarter presenting the Drake Award to Dan Werthimer.
A lot of astronomy discoveries are made just by looking at the place nobody’s ever looked before. (Dan Werthimer)
Haiku shared by Dan, written by Paula Cooke, Duke University:
Searching for Life
Answers are revealed
About ourselves
Frank Drake.
SETI is learning of other creatures like ourselves in space, what their civilizations are like, all of which is just going to change everything when it happens. What we’re trying to find is probably the most important discovery that can be found in science these days, and it will have enormous effect on our civilization, where we live and probably benefit a great deal the people of Earth. (Frank Drake)
Past recipients William Borucki, Victoria Meadows and Jason Wright: https://drakeawards.seti.org/past-recipients.php
Three past recipients on three different paths for understanding whether we are alone in the universe:
William Borucki 2015 Drake Award: Principal investigator for the Kepler mission, which has confirmed 4,383 exoplanets to date, with 5,939 candidates outstanding
Victoria Meadows 2018 Drake Award: Astrobiologist and planetary astronomer focused on exoplanets, planetary habitability and biosignatures.
Jason Wright 2019 Drake Award: Astronomer and astrophysicist searching for signs of extraterrestrial industry, such as Dyson Spheres.
