A note from TED Prize winner Jill Tarter…

At TED last February, Chris Anderson told the audience that without a White Knight stepping up to support my SETI observing program on the Allen Telescope Array, the antennas would soon be put into a safe hibernation mode in preparation for shutting down the array. That’s because our University of California Berkeley partner was no longer able to find federal and state funds to pay for operations of the Hat Creek Observatory where the array was built. No White Knight materialized; hibernation commenced April 15. Since April, the cryogenics have been kept running to protect the delicate low noise amplifiers in the innovative feed/receiver systems on the antennas, physical security has been maintained, our extraordinary computing equipment has been stored in our Mountain View lab for safekeeping, but the weeds on site grew unchecked, and no data were taken from the sky.

But we never lost the dream of re-starting. Recovery was a three-part process: first, working with UC Berkeley to forestall the immediate site remediation activities that would be required at the cessation of the US Forest Service land use permit; second, find a new task for the array and a partner to maintain and operate it while sharing time with SETI; and third, find support for my SETI team to restore our observing capabilities and once again begin exploring the sky. It hasn’t been easy, and the future is still a bit uncertain, but as of September 1, we were back on site, greasing antenna bearings, reinstalling computers, rewriting software to accommodate new modes of operating, fixing a frozen compressor on the old HVAC system, and yes, mowing down the weeds. We have a short-term contract to assess the utility of the Allen Telescope Array as part of the US Air Force’s important space situational awareness mission, and we hope this will turn into a long-term partnership. We are working with the Forest Service to have the land use permit transferred. We also experimented with crowdfunding to raise the money needed for my team to do the work involved in getting the array and our SonATA signal detection system up and running again -– thousands of wonderful SETI Stars from around the world came to our aid on SETIStars.org, meeting the 40-day funding challenge we set -– WOW!

In a delightful coincidence, we were finally ready to relaunch our SETI exploration of the 1,235 exoplanet candidates announced last February by the Kepler mission (the worlds that we had been targeting prior to hibernation), and the date of our relaunch was yesterday; the opening day of the First Kepler Science Conference! We started observing again and the Kepler team announced the discovery of Kepler 22b, the first Earth-size planet in orbit within the habitable zone around a star like our Sun -– not quite Earth 2.0, but getting close. And by the way, they also gave us another 1000+ exoplanet candidates to explore.

So for the next two years or so, we know exactly what we need to do, and where we want to look. Planets are real, planets are plentiful, and some of the systems are starting to look a bit familiar. What a great time to be doing SETI! Federal and institutional funding sources have brought the search for life elsewhere in the galaxy to an exciting threshold. My astrobiology colleagues will be trying to search for biosignatures from exoplanets circling other stars, and at the Center for SETI Research we are moving forward with the public’s quest to know whether there is any intelligent, technological life on these worlds. As always, the funding for the SETI effort needs to be found: about $100,000 a month, every month, every year. We are going to repurpose and evolve SETIStars.org to allow supporters to more closely follow our progress, to interact with us in ways that keep them involved and motivated. The setiQuest community that launched as part of my 2009 TED Prize wish is already helping us with the technical challenges of our work. This is humanity’s search, and we cannot do it without global support — some of which I hope will come from the TED community.

99 faces. 99 stories. 99 reasons why they are the 99%.

Late last week, a group of everyday Americans used art and the Inside Out Project platform to stand up and declare that they are the 99%. Occupy. Inside. Out. is an effort to document the people behind the Occupy movement and to share their stories; an opportunity to paint a positive portrait of the face of change.

Just as the Occupy movement is spreading across the country and world, the organizers of this action hope other supports of the movement will also use art and Inside Out to stand with the 99%.

Take portraits. Upload them to Inside Out. Get your posters. Contact the organizers of Occupy.Inside.Out to let them know what you are doing. Simple as that.

All images: Chad Meacham

Curious about starting your own Inside Out Project group action? Over at TEDPrize.org, they’re interviewing people from around the world who’ve been inspired by the artist JR and his TED Prize wish to photograph and paste the faces of their community. In this Q&A, meet Dana Eskelson of Brooklyn, New York, who organized one of the Inside Out Project’s first group actions, on the stoops of Park Slope.

IOP: Was this your first foray into exhibiting your art on the street?

DE: I am not a visual artist. I have never done anything like this before.

What was the pasting experience like for your team?

One of my favorite moments from the entire experience was at the end of the day we were pasting. My neighbors had started to come home from work; they all walk from the train and take the same route and have to head up the block. And as they did, they saw us and what was happening, and they gathered and shook hands and introduced themselves and stood around talking and watching together. Neighbors on one end of a Brooklyn block don’t often know the others at the opposite end, and on that day, the project had shrunk the size of a Brooklyn block to a smaller and more personable expanse. It was not something I had really thought about at all — I was only focused on celebrating the local, longtime shop owners. In the end, it was not only a beautiful repercussion of participating in the project, but something that would have a long-term positive influence on the people who live here — long past the time when the posters dissolve and fade away.

What inspired you to get involved in the Inside Out Project?

I had seen an article about JR in The New York Times maybe in January and saw some of his photos, and I was so blown away by them that I cut them out and put them up on my walls. Then months later, when I heard he won the TED Prize, I watched his speech and the announcement of his wish. I was too moved and inspired to remain inactive.

How did you determine what statement to make?

When I asked myself what I cared about, past my son and friends, the answer was ‘people.’ I am very grateful for my life and everything I have in a world where so many have so little and yet they remain optimistic, joyful and generous. I thought of my neighbors who began as strangers and then became friends as they helped me over the years while I struggled as a new homeowner and a single mother raising my son. And then I expanded that thought to my neighborhood and how much I love it, how grateful I am to live here, even have this house. And my neighborhood is made of a community of small shopowners — some of whom have been here more than 44 years, long before it became hip to live here — and their continued presence is what makes our neighborhood so great. And they are largely an immigrant community supporting family members back home in countries all over the world. I wanted the shopowners and their families to know that their sacrifices to be here and the long hours they work are not in vain: that we see them. And I wanted them to be celebrated in a way that their families back home, who I am sure miss them very much, could witness. I wanted their families as well as the shopowners to know that the community is not taking their presence here for granted.

How did you recruit people to participate?

I counted how many stoop stairs there were on my block and made 44 two-page flyers with photos of JR’s work and a one-sheet proposal of my idea and gave my contact info.

Did it take a lot of time and effort to find the right walls? To get permission?

I figured that if I proposed the posters to be on the stoop stairs, I’d have a better time getting people to agree to me pasting on their properties. I gave myself a deadline of about three weeks for people to respond, because I felt that if someone had to think too much about it or they were hesitant, it was probably not a good idea for them to participate. I didn’t want to talk anyone into anything. I wanted it to be a project of optimistic enthusiasm, because I actually had no idea how I was going to do it or what it would look like — and since there were no guarantees, I only wanted property owners who were excited. I initially wanted to reach out and organize this to happen in the entire borough of Brooklyn, with pockets of blocks doing this for all of their local shopowners, but I thought it could take me all year to organize something like that and I was only one person. So I forced myself to limit it to my block.

What was the community’s reaction to your action?

Complete support and interest. Amazement. While it was not my intention, it has also fueled the ongoing dialogue and political fire that has been going on in our neighborhood a few years now due to the ongoing construction of a new sports arena one-and-a-half blocks away. This construction has enacted the eminent domain law and has forced many businesses to close, while putting many people out of their homes — although the politicians would not phrase it that way.

Our block is also a bus route, and every day as people pass on the bus, it’s like they are in an outdoor art gallery and you can see the surprise on their faces. People stop every day and take pictures and ask questions. Best of all, it not only brings a smile to anyone who sees them for the first time, but to all of us who live here as well, every day, even 2 months later.

What conversation do you hope results from your group action?

I didn’t do it to inspire anyone or hope for dialogue or anything like that at all. I just wanted to publicly honor my local shopowners and give my neighbors a forum to express the gratitude I knew they felt as well.

Why do you feel art, and particularly the Inside Out Project, was the best way to express that?

Any time someone publicly stands up for something, there is an opportunity for those that are silent who may be feeling internally the very same thing — the quieter people in a community — to feel connected and maybe even inspired in their newly discovered unity to be a little more brave, to speak up or to participate. It just takes one person to start. Others will always follow. Art is not for the elite. It’s not for inside walls where only a few can afford the time or money to see it. It should be for everyone. If it really is a reflection or meditation on society or humanity, then society should have access to see it.

What piece of advice would you give to someone else who wants to organize a group action?

If not now, when? Do it.

Do you think art can change the world? Why?

Yes. Art is the peoples’ politics. It gives everyone a voice: both the artist and the viewer. It provides the opportunity for a communal experience, and anytime strangers are brought together to experience something, discourse occurs and diversity of thought is encouraged. This is the definition of a true democracy. Movements and revolutions are begun by someone speaking up, whether verbally or visually. Sometimes you can’t give a public speech to protest against injustices, but you can create something that speaks even louder, moves even more people, transgresses language barriers, can’t be stopped and doesn’t need a permit to exist. People are put off by political parties, the class system, governmental alliances, religion, all of the things that separate us and differentiate us and divide us from being one race. Art asks, not dictates. All people need to unite is one person to start. That is the essence of change: unity.

Read more about Inside Out Project in Brooklyn in the New York Times >>

For the past 2 weeks, TED Prize winner JR was in Israel and Palestine on what he termed his “biggest action” yet for the Inside Out Project.

For this action, called “Time is Now, Yalla!”, the Inside Out team took to the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem & beyond. Giant photobooths (including a mobile truck) were erected to bring the printing to the people. Everyone could to take their own portraits and share what they stood for by immediately pasting their posters in the streets. Taking place at an historically poignant time, these pastings were true community events; people of all ages and backgrounds came celebrate their stories together.

The response to the project was nothing short of inspiring. With a strong visual statement of the desires of people on both sides, thousands made their voices heard and added themselves to the global tapestry of over 40,000 “Inside Out faces.”

After the core Inside Out team left, the project continued for the next week thanks to some impassioned volunteers in the region.

For more information on this action, visit our photobooth page >>
To get your community involved in Inside Out visit our site >>

– Casson Rosenblatt

Yesterday, the Encyclopedia of Life launched EOLv2 — a new design and new features for this database of all life on Earth. Inspired by E.O. Wilson’s 2008 TED Prize wish, the Encyclopedia of Life contains some 700,000 pages, each listing a different living thing. The redesign is meant to increase ease of use — and allow users to personalize the site and to interact with fellow enthusiasts worldwide.

EOL.org has grown and evolved significantly since its launch in 2007. It’s grown from 30,000 pages in February 2008 to 700,000 today. The global partnership of 176 content providers behind EOL.org is progressing toward an aspiration of 1.9 million pages — one for every species known to science.

The Encyclopedia of Life is the result of E.O. Wilson’s 2007 TED Prize wish “that we will work together to help create the key tool that we need to inspire preservation of Earth’s biodiversity: the Encyclopedia of Life.” The TED community rallied around Wilson and provided resources to help build and develop the original EOL — both funders and content partners came on board to help EOL.org establish itself as a unique tool suitable for both scientists and ordinary citizens. Today, EOL has grown to become a global community of collaborators and contributors serving the general public, enthusiastic amateurs, educators, students and scientists from around the world.

“EOL.org Version 2 will effect an extraordinary expansion of the Encyclopedia of Life, opening its vast and growing storehouse of knowledge to a much larger range of users, including medicine, biotechnology, ecology and now increasingly the general public,” says E.O. Wilson.

Watch E.O. Wilson’s TED Prize talk >>

Explore the Encyclopedia of Life >>

– Casson Rosenblatt

“As the ocean gives us life, we must give back — an enduring gift from us to the future.” — Sylvia Earle

Today we celebrate 2009 TED Prize winner Sylvia Earle‘s birthday by celebrating the many successes in ocean protection that took place in 2011.

Sylvia recently told us the good news: “[This year there was] a significant increase in protection by the U.K. for the Chagos Archipelago, by Chile for the waters around Sal y Gomez, by Costa Rica for the Cocos Islands in addition to greater protection for sharks in Hawaii, the Republic of Palau, Honduras and the Maldives — and more! Pacific Island nations are collaborating in an effort to greatly increase the size and scope of safe havens for ocean wildlife. Awareness is growing about the need to reform fishing policies. Momentum is growing on many fronts, from the Sargasso Sea to the Ross Sea and beyond.”

But there is plenty more to do to build on this recent success. Recently Sylvia helped launch OceanElders, a group of leaders from around the world including Ted Turner and Sir Richard Branson, who have come together to shine a global spotlight on the need for ocean conservation.

We want to know how you are helping fulfill Sylvia’s wish. Join us in a new TED Conversation to discuss what steps you are taking to protect the ocean.

You can also follow Sylvia on Facebook and Twitter.

– Casson Rosenblatt

[From August 2, 2011, 5:21pm] The next phase of setiQuest, the result of Jill Tarter’s 2009 TED Prize wish, will be unveiled in 2012. It will allow anyone, anywhere to contribute to the search for signals of intelligent life in the universe. But in the meantime, tough economic times have forced a major extraterrestrial data collector to lie dormant.

In April 2011, the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) was placed into a state of hibernation due to a funding shortfall. Today, the ATA’s 42 radio telescopes are on stand-by, unable to scan the sky; the array can no longer hunt for evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations and insight into the nature of our cosmic origin.

To get the ATA back online, the SETI Institute is making an appeal to the power of human collaboration. Last month, the crowdfunding site SETIstars launched to recognize and rally support from the community to help fund the SETI Institute’s operations and that of the Allen Telescope Array.

The first fundraising goal is $200,000, and with four days to go, they’re almost there. If you’d like to help get the array searching again, learn more >>

– Casson Rosenblatt

In the five months since JR made his wish at TED 2011, the global response has been spectacular. We’ve seen photos cover the world’s walls, bridges, streets and windows from Montevideo to the Bronx, from Cape Town to Karachi. People are standing up against violence and homophobia, standing for immigrant rights and the stories of the homeless.

Showing another side of novice monks in Chiang Mai.

These actions reveal the deepness and vulnerability of communities globally. They provide an outlet for the underlying yearning for connection of participants. This work is impacting lives and bringing people closer together. And we’re just getting started.

Interested in getting involved?

+ Organize a group action in your community. Read these guidelines, then contact the Inside Out Project team at jr@insideoutproject.net.
+ Share the project. Join Inside Out on Facebook and ask your network to do the same.
+ Watch video on the Inside Out Project YouTube Channel.

Preserving the culture of the Lakota Nation in North Dakota.

– Casson Rosenblatt

Photo: Circe f. Ervina

Announced onstage today at TED: JR, the street artist and the TED2011 TED Prize winner, has been working this week in Edinburgh on an Inside Out Project action in the home of TEDGlobal. Writer Celyn Bricker tells the story:

That the UK uses the most CCTV surveillance in Europe is widely known, though perhaps less well known is that Edinburgh is the UK’s most closely surveilled city. When we were provided with the opportunity to work with ‘Inside-Out’ we decided to highlight this little known feature of the city. We did this simply by photographing people on both sides of the CCTV camera -– those that are surveilled and those that work as surveillants. The former, of course, includes pretty much everyone, though we initially narrowed our range of subjects by photographing the group that are the most closely surveilled, namely males aged 16-24.

The process of interviewing and photographing people on both sides of the CCTV had some surprising results. There were some, working closely with CCTV, that found the current situation in the UK regarding surveillance to be highly problematic; likewise, at times we encountered the reverse with the people we spoke to in the streets who had no problem at all with high levels of surveillance and were in support of it. Nevertheless we chose to visually separate the two groups that we photographed by taking the photographs from contrasting angles: the images of the surveilled subjects are taken from above, as though captured on a CCTV camera, and the images of the surveillants from below, as though looking into a CCTV screen. The process of photographing the former led us to climbing onto street utility boxes, buildings, perimeter walls, street statues and monuments in an attempt to capture that moment when the surveilled subject comes into contact with the camera.

By pasting the image of ‘surveilled’ subject and ‘surveillant’ in the same physical space we were able to simulate a kind of encounter that is made impossible by the CCTV system. The strange process of CCTV –- which is essentially people watching other people -– is somehow normalized by having a machine system separating watched and watcher. We wanted to make clear the artificiality of this separation, and at the same time make some equivalence between the two groups: the ‘surveillants’ are of course themselves subject to surveillence, and we mimicked that process by taking their photographs. By pasting in the historic centre of Edinburgh, we wanted to highlight the tension between the city’s at times antique appearance and this surprising feature of its modernity –- that it is the most closely surveilled space in Europe.

Cross-posted on Huffington Post When 2009 TED Prize winner Jill Tarter wished to “empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search for cosmic company,” we looked to the SETI Institute’s Allen Telescope Array (ATA).

With this telescope, Jill’s vision, and the power of open-source initiatives, we were able to globalize the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Because we don’t know what a new signal will look like, it’s hard to create an algorithm to find it, and our own eyes actually work better than computers.

Regrettably, recent shortfalls in operations funding have put the Allen Telescope Array into a state of hibernation. While fundraising efforts are under way to remedy this situation, we must acknowledge this serious blow to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. There is, however, one silver lining: over the past two years, the ATA has stored many terabytes of data in the Amazon Web Services Cloud, and a significant signal might be hidden amid this information.

Working together, and sorting through this data, we could still find it!

In collaboration with Zooniverse, a site that has launched many other citizen science projects -– inspiring volunteers to classify galaxies, explore the Moon and even to discover planets around other stars -– millions of people will soon be able to search the ATA data in hopes of finding a signal.

I can’t express how excited I am that Zooniverse will be working with Jill Tarter and the SETI Institute to develop a project that will unlock the secrets of the ATA archive. And when the ATA comes back online, the volunteers can work alongside Jill’s team in real time to sort through much more data — data that contains so many signals, it actually confuses the computers.

While the project will require some time before it’s up and running, I urge each of you to get ready to share your eyes … and help dig for a signal.

– Amy Novogratz