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Frank Drake

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For the comic book character, seeFrank Drake (comics).For the 16th century naval commander, seeFrancis Drake.

Frank Drake
Drake speaking atCornell Universityin 2017
Born
Frank Donald Drake

(1930-05-28)May 28, 1930
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedSeptember 2, 2022(2022-09-02)(aged 92)
Aptos, California,U.S.
Alma mater
Known for
Spouses
Elizabeth Procter Bell
​
​
(m.1952;div.1976)​
Amahl Shakhashiri
​
(m.1978)​
Children5, includingNadia
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy,astrophysics
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Santa Cruz,SETI
Doctoral advisorCecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

Frank Donald Drake(May 28, 1930 – September 2, 2022) was an Americanastrophysicistandastrobiologist.

He began his career as aradio astronomer,studying theplanets of the Solar Systemand laterpulsars.Drake expanded his interests to thesearch for extraterrestrial intelligence(SETI), beginning withProject Ozmain 1960, an attempt atextraterrestrial communications.He developed theDrake equation,[1]which attempts to quantify the number of intelligent lifeforms that could potentially be discovered. Working withCarl Sagan,Drake helped to design thePioneer plaque,the first physical message flown beyond the Solar System, and was part of the team that developed theVoyager record.Drake designed and implemented theArecibo messagein 1974, an extraterrestrial radio transmission of astronomical and biological information about Earth. He is the father of Advanced SETI.

Drake worked at theNational Radio Astronomy Observatory,Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Cornell University,University of California at Santa Cruzand theSETI Institute.

Early life and education[edit]

Born on May 28, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois,[2]Drake showed an early interest in electronics and chemistry.[3]Drake first considered the possibility oflife existing on other planetsas an eight-year-old, after conjecturing that if human civilization was the result of chance then civilizations might also exist elsewhere in the universe.[4]

He enrolled atCornell Universityon aNavy Reserve Officer Training Corpsscholarship.[2]Once there he began studying astronomy. His ideas about the possibility ofextraterrestrial lifewere reinforced by a lecture from astrophysicistOtto Struvein 1951.[4]After receiving a B.A. in Engineering Physics, Drake served briefly as an electronics officer on theheavy cruiserUSSAlbany.He then went on to graduate school atHarvard Universityfrom 1952 to 1955 where he received a M.S. and Ph.D. in Astronomy. Hisdoctoral advisorwasCecilia Payne-Gaposchkin.[5][2]

Career[edit]

Drake began his research career as aradio astronomer,working at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) inGreen Bank, West Virginiafrom 1958–63. At NRAO, he conducted research into radio emissions from theplanets of the Solar System:using the radio telescope at Green Bank, Drake discovered theionosphereandmagnetosphereofJupiter,and observed theatmosphere of Venus.He also mapped the radio emission from theGalactic Center.[4][6]Drake extended the capabilities of the under-constructionArecibo Observatoryto allow it to be used for radio astronomy (it was originally designed purely forionospheric physics).[6]

In April 1959, Drake obtained approval from the director Otto Struve of NRAO to beginProject Ozma,a search for extraterrestrial radio communications.[7]Initially, they agreed to keep the project secret, fearing public ridicule. However, Drake decided to publicize his project afterGiuseppe CocconiandPhilip Morrisonpublished a paper inNaturein September 1959, entitled "Searching for Interstellar Communications".[4][8]Drake began his Project Ozma observations in 1960, using the NRAO 26-meter radio telescope, by searching for possible signals from the star systemsTau CetiandEpsilon Eridani.No extraterrestrial signals were detected and the project was terminated in July 1960. After learning about Project Ozma,Carl Sagan(then a graduate student) contacted Drake, initiating a lifelong collaboration between them.[7][4]

In 1961, Drake devised theDrake equation,which attempted estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations that might be detectable in theMilky Way.[1][4]The Drake equation has been described as the "second most-famous equation in science", afterE=mc2.[9]

In 1963, Drake served as section chief of Lunar and Planetary Science at theJet Propulsion Laboratory.He returned to Cornell in 1964, this time as a member of thefaculty (academic staff),where he would spend the next two decades. He was promoted to Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy in 1976.[4][7][10]Drake served as associate director of the Cornell Center for Radiophysics and Space Research[when?],as director of the Arecibo Observatory from 1966 to 1968, and as director of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC, which includes the Arecibo facility), from its establishment in 1971 to 1981.[10]

In 1972, Drake co-designed thePioneer plaquewith Carl Sagan andLinda Salzman Sagan.The plaque was the first physical message sent into space and intended to be understandable by any sufficiently technologically advanced extraterrestrial lifeforms that might intercept it.[11]In 1974, Drake wrote theArecibo message,the first interstellar message transmitted deliberately from Earth.[12]He later served as technical director, with Carl Sagan andAnn Druyan,in the development of theVoyager Golden Record,an improved version of the Pioneer plaque which also incorporated audio recordings.[10][13]

In 1984, Drake moved to theUniversity of California at Santa Cruz(UCSC), becoming theirDean of Natural Science.The non-profitSETI Institutewas founded the same year, with Drake as president of its board of trustees. Drake left his role as dean in 1988, but remained a professor at UCSC while also becoming director of the SETI Institute'sCarl Sagan Center.[2][3]Drake was President of theAstronomical Society of the Pacificfrom 1988 to 1990. From 1989 to 1992, he was chairman of the Board of Physics and Astronomy for theNational Research Council.[14]He retired from teaching in 1996 but remained emeritus professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC.[15]In 2010, Drake stepped down as director of The Carl Sagan Center but continued to serve on the SETI Institute's board of trustees.[4][16]

On the subject of the search for the existence of extra-terrestrial life, Drake said: "[A]s far as I know, the most fascinating, interesting thing you could find in the universe is not another kind of star or galaxy… but another kind of life."[17]

Personal life[edit]

Drake's hobbies includedlapidaryand the cultivation oforchids.[18]

He had five children, including science journalistNadia Drake.[19][2]

Drake died on September 2, 2022, at his home inAptos, California,from natural causes at the age of 92.[20][21]

Honors[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abPhysics Today14 (4), 40–46 (1961).Drake, F. D. (April 1961)."Project Ozma".pubs.aip.org.American Institute of Physics.RetrievedApril 27,2023.The question of the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in space has long fascinated people, but, until recently, has been properly left to the science‐fiction writers.
  2. ^abcde"Frank Drake, pioneer in the search for alien life, dies at 92".Science.September 2, 2022. Archived fromthe originalon September 2, 2022.
  3. ^ab"Frank D. Drake 1930 – 2022".
  4. ^abcdefgh"Frank Drake – Biography, Facts and Pictures".
  5. ^"Personal Portrait: CECILIA PAYNE".Archived fromthe originalon May 6, 2021.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  6. ^ab"Dr. Frank Drake".ISDC 2018.
  7. ^abc"Frank Donald Drake".Oxford Reference.
  8. ^Ccocconi, Giuseppe; Morrison, Philip (1959). "Searching for Interstellar Communications".Nature.184(4690): 844–846.Bibcode:1959Natur.184..844C.doi:10.1038/184844a0.S2CID4220318.
  9. ^"Drake Equation".September 29, 2023.
  10. ^abcStephens, Tim."Pioneering radio astronomer Frank Drake dies at 92".UC Santa Cruz News.
  11. ^Sagan, Carl; Sagan, Linda Salzman; Drake, Frank (February 25, 1972). "A Message from Earth".Science.175(4024): 881–884.Bibcode:1972Sci...175..881S.doi:10.1126/science.175.4024.881.PMID17781060.
  12. ^David, Leonard (Summer 1980)."Putting Our Best Signal Forward".Cosmic Search.2(3): 2–7.Bibcode:1980CosSe...2....2D.
  13. ^"Cornellians celebrate the Voyagers' historic Golden Record".Cornell Chronicle.
  14. ^"Frank Drake".
  15. ^University of California | Lick observatory ucolick.orgretrieved 18:29 23 October 2011
  16. ^"SETI Institute Names New Chief Alien Life Hunter".Space.June 14, 2010.RetrievedFebruary 23,2012.
  17. ^Scoles, Sarah (September 15, 2022)."Frank Drake (1930–2022)".Nature.609(7928): 672.Bibcode:2022Natur.609..672S.doi:10.1038/d41586-022-02962-8.PMID36109616.S2CID252310226.
  18. ^Billings, Lee (October 3, 2013).Five Billion Years of Solitude: The Search for Life Among the Stars(1st ed.). New York: Current, a member ofPenguin Group.ISBN9781617230066.
  19. ^Broad, William J. (April 10, 1985)."EAVESDROPPERS LISTEN FOR COSMIC HELLO".The New York Times.
  20. ^Overbye, Dennis(September 5, 2022)."Frank Drake, Who Led Search for Life on Other Planets, Dies at 92 – He was convinced that human beings would eventually connect with extraterrestrials, and he inspired others to share that belief".The New York Times.RetrievedSeptember 6,2022.
  21. ^Timmer, John (September 2, 2022)."Frank Drake, astronomer famed for contributions to SETI, has died".Ars Technica.RetrievedSeptember 2,2022.
  22. ^"IAU Minor Planet Center".minorplanetcenter.net.
  23. ^"Frank D. Drake".nasonline.org.
  24. ^"Frank Donald Drake".American Academy of Arts & Sciences.February 9, 2023.
  25. ^"Drake Award".
  26. ^"National Space Society to Present Space Pioneer Award to SETI Astronomer Frank Drake".April 16, 2018.
  27. ^"SITE FACILITIES".

External links[edit]

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