Terms of reference of the SETI Post-Detection Committee
The Subcommittee is named "The SETI Post-Detection Science & Technology Subcommittee" of the IAA SETI Committee. Its purpose is to act as a Standing Committee to be available to be called on at any time to advise and consult on questions stemming from the discovery of a putative signal of extraterrestrial intelligent (ETI) origin. In the event of the discovery of such a signal, especially if it is not clearly of ETI origin, it could be important to gather experts from many nations to assist in the detailed analysis of the signal. The Subcommittee would be called upon to give such advice, (and if necessary to travel to the observatory where the observations were made), by the institution or organization making the discovery. All costs for such activities of the Subcommittee would be born by the organization making the detection. The Subcommittee will develop plans to respond and assemble to provide such consultation. The Subcommittee will also prepare categories of investigation and analysis it may wish to use if called upon. These categories should be addressed to all putative signal types, from a simple continuous wave frequency to a complex signal rich with information, which might need extensive decoding. The Subcommittee would be empowered to call upon other consultants for specialist help, including members of the full IAA SETI Committee. The Subcommittee will be made up of expert scientists and engineers from different nations. The areas of expertise will include, but are not limited to, infrared and microwave radioastronomy and engineering, signal detection technology and statistics, computer science and technology, radio frequency interference analysis, and radiotelescope operations. The Subcommittee will meet every year jointly with the full IAA SETI Committee. It will have a Chair and a Deputy Chair. Members are selected by the full committee. One third of the membership will rotate every five years.
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Last updated: 25-February 2000
Ray Norris (ray.norris@atnf.csiro.au)
