About Us

Dr. Vishal Gajjar

Principle Investigator (SETI Institute)

Dr. Gajjar is a seasoned radio SETI expert with almost a decade of experience in the field. He earned his PhD from the National Center for Radio Astrophysics in India in 2014, and since then, he has been an integral part of the distinguished Breakthrough Listen program. As a project scientist at Breakthrough Listen’s International facilities, he collaborates with nearly half a dozen observatories in several countries, and oversees the AGISETI project.

Joel T. Earwicker

Research Assistant (SETI Institute)

Joel is a researcher at the SETI Institute with over five years of experience in science education. He holds a B.S. in Astrophysics from the University of California Santa Cruz, and conducts radio astronomy research with the Allen Telescope Array. Joel develops educational materials and tools for teaching radio astronomy and SETI, while helping support instructors in delivering these concepts. He is passionate about overcoming barriers to science education and is committed to making astronomy accessible to all.

Dr. Sofia Sheikh

Collaborator (SETI Institute)

Dr. Sheikh is an NSF-Ascend Postdoctoral Fellow at the SETI Institute, doing research in radio astronomy with the Allen Telescope Array. She has taught multiple astronomy courses as an Instructor-of-Record at both Penn State and Foothill Community College, and has extensive experience in research mentorship of undergraduate students. She has also custom-designed curricula for upper-level astronomy communication topics as well as introductory astronomy laboratory activities about SETI and radio astronomy.

Dr. Simon Steel

Collaborator (SETI Institute, NASA Community College Network)

Dr. Simon Steel is Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research at the SETI Institute. As a science educator and communicator for over 25 years, Simon has held lectureships at Harvard University, University College London and University College Dublin, and is an eight-time recipient of Harvard’s Certificate of Distinction in Teaching award for undergraduate education. Simon’s experience spans formal and informal education, teacher training, museum exhibit design and multimedia product development. Simon is Principal Investigator for the NASA Community College Network, a major initiative to bring cutting-edge space science into the community college classroom, and is an education specialist supporting NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection.

Dr. Wael Farah

Collaborator (SETI Institute, Allen Telescope Array)

Dr. Farah is the Project Scientist for the ATA and has been instrumental in the major endeavor of refurbishing the telescope. Wael possesses a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the field of digital signal processing and radio interferometry, and has lead the digital upgrades and commissioning of the newly-deployed digital system on the ATA. Thanks to his team's effort, the ATA has emerged as one of the foremost observing facilities conducting pioneering research in the field of radio astronomy. This includes the search for technosignatures, the study of Fast Radio Bursts, pulsars, afterglows of supernova explosions, accreting blackholes, and more.

Derek Kozel

Collaborator (GNU Radio)

Derek is currently the Principal Investigator with the GNU Radio project at the SETI Institute. GNU Radio is the world's most widely used free and open source software toolkit for designing and developing software defined radio and digital signal processing applications. He has been a volunteer with GNU Radio since 2017 and active in the administration of the project since 2018. His personal research has included using machine learning to create adaptive modulation schemes for wireless communications and high efficiency power amplifiers. Derek's work is focused on supporting the continuing development of the GNU Radio toolkit, promoting it's use in education and outreach, and collaborating with radio astronomers within the SETI Institute and around the world. Some key areas of development are in enabling advanced applications on heterogeneous computing platforms and improving the usability and accessibility of the core platform and third party ecosystem.

Dr. Chenoa Tremblay

Collaborator (SETI Institute, COSMIC)

Dr. Chenoa Tremblay is a researcher at the SETI Institute and an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Mexico. She is the project scientist for the SETI Institute COSMIC program at the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico and the Breakthrough Listen commensal program on the MeerKat telescope in South Africa. Both systems are large-scale technosignature projects designed to complete all-sky observations and offer an excellent resource to promote STEM learning. She also offers STEAM career opportunities for students and post-doctoral fellows in New Mexico. Dr. Tremblay is actively collaborating with the AGISETI team to integrate the radio astronomy curriculum into the University of New Mexico. Additionally, she is working on developing STEM learning projects for the Early College Academy Magnet High School (ECA) in Albuquerque, which serves approximately 74% of students from minority ethnic and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

SETI Institute

The SETI Institute is a world-leading organization dedicated to exploring the origins and prevalence of life in the universe. Founded in 1984, the Institute conducts cutting-edge research in astrobiology, radio astronomy, and planetary science, with a particular focus on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. By blending scientific inquiry with public outreach and education, the SETI Institute strives to answer some of humanity's most profound questions about our place in the cosmos, while advancing the understanding of life beyond Earth.

Amateur Radio Digital Communications

ARDC is a California-based foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. Their mission is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote amateur radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology.

GNU Radio

GNU Radio is an open-source software development toolkit that enables users to design, simulate, and implement complex signal processing systems. It is widely used in both academia and industry for applications ranging from digital communication systems to radio astronomy. With its flexible, modular design, GNU Radio allows users to build software-defined radios (SDRs) and experiment with real-time signal processing without the need for specialized hardware. As a powerful tool for both research and education, GNU Radio has become an essential resource for teaching and exploring advanced concepts in communication, signal processing, and related fields.

Educational Institutions Around the World

The AGISETI curriculum is being developed in collaboration with a diverse group of nearly 50 colleges and institutions from around the world, shown here. These partners play a vital role in shaping the curriculum by providing feedback on its content, testing the materials in their classrooms, and helping ensure that it meets the needs of a wide range of students and educators. Through workshops, live observations, and hands-on labs, our collaborators are directly involved in bringing cutting-edge topics in radio astronomy, SETI, and digital communications to their courses. Together, we are working to create an inclusive and adaptable curriculum that empowers students to explore the universe and develop valuable skills in STEM fields.

Our Team