The SETI Institute and Comic Con may not, at first blush, seem like an obvious pairing. But this was Silicon Valley Comic Con, which has a particular focus on science and technology. So, April 21-23, the SETI Institute set up camp, with NASA next door. SETI Institute scientists were on-hand to help explain the work we do, and free eclipse glasses were provided so people will be able to safely view the August 21 solar eclipse. Some of us even came in costume. 

• KQED: Cy and David’s Picks: Dancing in the Streets, Bouncing with Big Freedia, and Silicon Valley Superheroes
• San Francisco Chronicle: Science is both fiction and reality at Silicon Valley Comic Con
• The Mercury News: Silicon Valley Comic Con, Episode II: The Fandom Returns
   

There was continued coverage about the Luxembourg trade delegation and their visit to the Bay Area, including the SETI Institute. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Etienne Schneider was joined by the Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, along with representatives from several companies active in the space industry.

• SETI Institute: The SETI Institute Welcomes Luxembourg Trade Mission Focused on Space Sector
• Chronicle.lu: Hereditary Grand Duke and Duchess Take VR NASA Tour
• Info-Luxembourg: HEREDITARY GRAND DUKE AND DUCHESS TAKE VR NASA TOUR
• Parabolic Arc: Luxembourg to Launch a Fund Offering Financial Support for Space Resources Industry
   

The SETI Institute is hosting a hackathon and international code challenge: Machine Learning for SETI (ML4SETI), inviting data scientists and technologists to become collaborators in the search for intelligent radio signals from beyond the solar system. The hackathon kicks off the code challenge and will take place in San Francisco June 10-11, 2017.

• SETI Institute: ML4SETI Hackathon
• AI Topics: ml4seti SETI Institute
   

Axios asked four notable researchers, including SETI Institute Senior Astronomer and host of Big Picture Science Seth Shostak, to discuss How to look for alien life. Seth posited that we might not be looking for living beings, but advanced, extraterrestrial, machines. Silicon Beat also provided a recap of their ideas in Little Green Men? Or something else? Here’s how to spot alien life forms.
 

Last week’s episode, Skeptic Check: Glutenous Maximus, an encore presentation, helps listeners understand how to think critically about popular food and diet trends. This week, Big Picture Science looks at spacecraft that don’t come home in Spacecraft Elegy. The episode includes conversations SETI Institute scientists Mark Showalter and Matt Tiscareno. 
 

• Las Vegas Science & Technology Festival: April 28-May 6, 2017. This week-long science festival will feature Jill Tarter, trustee and Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute.
• Institute for Cross Disciplinary Engagement at Dartmouth: May 11, 2017, Chicago, IL Jill Tarter, trustee and Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute will be in discussion with philosopher Patricia Churchland in Future of Intelligence: Human, Machine and Extraterrestrial: A Dialogue Between an Astronomer and a Philosopher. 
• IAA Planetary Defense Conference: May 15-19, 2017, Tokyo, Japan This bi-annual conference brings together world experts to discuss the threat to Earth posed by asteroids and comets and actions that might be taken to deflect a threatening object.  SETI Institute scientist Michael Busch will attend.
• Osher Lifelong Learning Institute: June 1, 2017, Santa Clara, CA Edna DeVore, Director of the Education at the SETI Institute will help people get prepared for this summer’s total eclipse of the sun which will take place on August 21, 2017.
• Spacefest: June 8-11, 2017, Tucson, AZ. An annual event that brings the space community together. Pascal Lee and Seth Shostak of SETI Institute will be speaking.
• Machine Learning 4 SETI Hackathon, June 10-11, San Francisco, CA The SETI Institute invites all citizen data scientists and technologists to join us as collaborators in our mission to find radio signals from intelligence beyond our solar system.
• Starmus Festival IV, June 18-23, 2017, Trondheim, Norway A celebration of science and the arts. Presenters will include Jill Tarter, Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute and Nathalie Cabrol, Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research at the SETI Institute
   

The full March 2017 activity report, including peer-reviewed publications, scientific conferences, public talks, and much, much more can be downloaded here.