User:Katia Martin/Creating Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Thomas Pierson

Early life and education

Tom Pierson was raised and educated in the public schools of Norman, Oklahoma. He attended the University of Oklahoma on a Lew Wentz Scholarship and scholarship support from the U.S. Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps. After undergraduate studies in aerospace engineering, he received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with dual majors in management and accounting. He received particular distinction as a student leader in the Reserve Officers Training Corps by leading the 675th detachment Arnold Air Society Honor Corps and serving as Deputy Commander of the 1700 member student corps in his senior year.

Career

After graduation, a major football related knee injury (since corrected) prevented regular service as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force, and he accepted an appointment as a professional accountant with the University of Oklahoma. During his three year career at the University, he was responsible for the introduction of the first computerized accounting system for the auxiliary enterprises of the University, and was elected a member, and eventual Chairman of the Employee Executive Council, precursor to the Administrative Staff Council.

In 1974 he was recruited by the 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 where, for almost nine years, he led the research development and administration programs of the campus. In 1981 he received an MBA degree, writing a thesis on the effect of differing leadership styles in higher education management. During this period 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 most of the early SETI researchers. In 1984, at the encouragement of SETI leaders such as Drs. Barney Oliver, John Billingham, and Jill Tarter, Pierson formally developed a vision he had introduced at an informal social gathering of SETI scientists: 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. After enthusiastic acceptance of this concept, Pierson incorporated the SETI Institute on November 20, 1984, and by February, 1985 the Institute received its first grant. Pierson assumed the administrative lead for the Institute at its inception and, in addition to his responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer (originally Executive Director), he serves on the Board of Trustees of the Institute as Corporate Secretary. The Institute, well known for its stellar team of scientific principal investigators and distinguished Board of Trustees, has become widely recognized as one of the leading organizations in the world focused on astrobiology and the study of life beyond earth.

Degrees:

• MBA - San Francisco State University, 1981. Thesis: The effect of differing leadership styles in higher education management.

• BBA - University of Oklahoma, 1973. Dual undergraduate majors in management and accounting. Undergraduate studies in aerospace engineering.

Pierson is married to the former Elyse Murray of San Francisco and has three children. He is a lifelong golfer, avid cyclist, and enjoys recreational racquetball.

Honors

Pierson is an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics and has received numerous recognitions, including the NASA Public Service Medal and the NASA Public Service Group Award given to the SETI Institute and all of its staff for excellence in carrying out research and education in the areas of life in the universe and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Other Recognitions

• Elected Member, International Academy of Astronautics

• Strathmore’s Who's Who registry of research and business leaders

• Marquis Who's Who in Finance and Industry

• Marquis Who's Who in the West

• Russell R. Meyers Award as the outstanding professional employee at the University of Oklahoma

• Vice Commandant's Award, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps

Board Memberships

• International Advisory Board–SETI Australia Centre (1996–2002); Now known as The S.E.T.I Research & Community Development Institute Limited

• Board of Directors of Social Tech, Inc. (now Critical Reach) of Burlingame, California (1995–2006)

• Board of Directors of the Molecular Research Institute of Palo Alto, California (1991–2002)

Professional Activities – Leadership Roles

• Co-Chair, SETI Permanent Study Group, International Academy of Astronautics (2002–2003) Co-Chair, SETI Committee, International Academy of Astronautics (1999–2002) Now integrated with the SETI Permanent Study Group

• SETI Permanent Study Group, International Academy of Astronautics (2002–present)

• Coordinating Board of Directors, Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy [SOFIA] (1997–2001)

• Advisory Council, Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1991–1998)

• California State University Auxiliary Organization Association (AOA) Executive Committee (1981–1984)

Other Memberships

• International Academy of Astronautics, Member (2004--present); Corresp. Member (1999–2004)

• American Association for the Advancement of Science (1990–present)

• National Space Society (1990–present)

• American Management Association (1988–present)

• American Astronomical Society (1985–present)

• Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1985–present)

• The Planetary Society (1985–present)

• International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (1987–present)

• Society of Research Administrators (1976–present)

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1970-72; 1988–present)

• Tournament Committee and Rules Official, Northern California Golf Association (1989–1999)

• Board of Directors, Shoreline Golf Club (1987–1988; President 1988)

• National Association of College and University Research Administrators (1976–1985)

• Western Association of College and University Business Officers (1974–1977)

• Southern Association of College and University Business Officers (1973–1974)

Panel Participation/Speaking

International Academy of Astronautics, IAF Congress

Appointed Rapporteur of the IAF Congress sessions for SETI II–Interdisciplinary Connections at the Congress meetings in Jerusalem (1994), Oslo (1995), Turin (1997), Houston (2002), Bremen (2003). Session Chair, Amsterdam (1999). Invited papers, Rio (2000), Bremen (2003).

Bioastronomy Symposium, IAU Commission 51

Invited paper, 1993: Pierson, T. “SETI Institute: Summary of Project in Support of SETI Research.” Published in Progress in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life–1993 Bioastronomy Symposium, Santa Cruz, California, 16-20 August, 1993, G. Seth Shostak (ed.), Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series Volume 74, pp. 432-444 (1995). Conference panel participant, 1999.

Guest Lecturer

Various guest appearances to discuss the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, astrobiology, and related topics.

Panel Moderator/Speaker

Numerous panel appearances regarding sponsored program development and administration for organizations such as Society of Research Administrators, National Association of College and University Research Administrators, Western Association of College and University Business Officers, and the Auxiliary Organizations Association of the California State University System.

Instructor, National Council of University Research Administrators

Taught sessions on Research Administration, emphasizing the legal background of grants and contracts and the use of legal arguments in approaching research administration matters.

Guest Lecturer, Research Theory and Proposal Writing

Lectured for a variety of graduate and undergraduate classes, emphasizing research methodology and the systematic approach to developing requests for funding.

Sample Publications

• Blumberg, Baruch S., and Thomas Pierson. “Commentary: Astrobiology Budget in Peril.” Space.com. 23 Feb. 2006. ImaginovaCorp.[1].
• Croft, Steve; Bower, Jeffrey C., et.al. “The Allen Telescope Array Twenty-centimeter Survey - A 690-Square-Degree, 12-Epoch Radio Dataset - I: Catalog and Long-Duration Transient Statistics”. Cornell University Library. 11 June 2010. [2].
• Pierson, Thomas. “Book Review: The Listeners”. SETI League Publications Department. June 2003. [3].
• Pierson, Thomas. “SETI Institute as a model for managing interdisciplinary science”. Acta Astronautica Volume 58, Issue 9, May 2006, Pages 478-484. [4].
• Welch, Jack; Backer, Don et.al. The Allen Telescope Array: “The First Widefield, Panchromatic, Snapshot Radio Camera for Radio Astronomy and SETI”. IEEE.org. 14 July 2009. [5].

Other References

• The Birth of the SETI Institute, [6] Explorer Magazine, December 2010
• SETI 2020: A Roadmap for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, [ISBN 0966633539] Editors: Ronald D. Ekers, Kent Cullers, John Billingham, 2002
• Searching for Good Science: The Cancellation of NASA’s SETI Program, [7]
• SETI Institute as a Model for Managing Interdisciplinary Science, [8]