Thomas Pierson
| Thomas Pierson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 22, 1950 Norman, OK |
| Died | February 20, 2014 (aged 63) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
University of Oklahoma San Francisco State University |
| Known for | Founder and CEO, SETI Institute |
Thomas Pierson (March 22, 1950 – February 20, 2014) was founder and CEO of the SETI Institute (search for extraterrestrial intelligence), a non-profit institute conducting research in Astrobiology.
Tom Pierson was raised and educated in the public schools of Norman, Oklahoma. He attended the University of Oklahoma where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration with dual majors in management and accounting. In 1974 he was recruited by then new Sonoma State University to lead the establishment of a University Foundation for faculty research. This effort led to several leadership roles in the California State University system-wide Auxiliary Organizations Association. and eventually to an appointment as Associate Director of the much larger Foundation at San Francisco State University (SFSU) where, for almost nine years, he led the research development and administration programs of the university. While at SFSU, he earned an MBA degree in 1981, writing a thesis on the effect of differing leadership styles in higher education management.
During this period at SFSU he assisted an adjunct faculty member (Professor Charles Seeger ) in obtaining research funding for NASA’s fledgling SETI research program (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and through this introduction met many of the early SETI researchers. At that time, a good deal of NASA’s research on SETI was conducted through grants to universities, with the university personnel performing the work in NASA facilities. In 1984, encouraged by scientists such as Drs. Barney Oliver, John Billingham, and Jill Tarter, Pierson looked for a way to more efficiently use SETI funding. Later that year, an informal social gathering of SETI scientists, he presented his solution: to develop a non-profit research organization that could serve as an institutional home for scientists and engineers interested in devoting their careers to the study of life in the universe. The scientists, including Dr. Frank Drake, enthusiastically endorsed the idea.
Pierson incorporated the SETI Institute as a 501(c)(3) non-profit on November 20, 1984, and by February 1985 the Institute received its first grant for research supporting NASA’s SETI Program. A few months later, the Institute received a second grant for Exobiology (later known as Astrobiology) research. From the start, Pierson encouraged the addition of all research and science education projects related to “life in the universe.” He made the Institute an attractive home for scientists and educators by assembling an administrative staff that provided efficient support services (purchasing, HR, accounting, etc.) with a very low overhead rate.
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