Frank Drake
Frank Drake was a Harvard-trained radio astronomer who came to NRAO in 1958 as one of our first astronomers in Green Bank, West Virginia. Drake set up our first millimeter-wave telescopes and pioneered the use of radio telescopes in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). His Project Ozma used the 85-foot Tatel telescope to observe the stars Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani for signs of civilization. None were ever found. Drake is well known for his thought experiment we now call the Drake Equation. It multiplies factors for finding life in our Galaxy based on physical and political variables. The Order of the Dolphin, a group of philosophically-minded scientists that included Nobel Laureate Melvin Calvin and Carl Sagan, convened in Green Bank in 1961 to discuss this equation.
