I am a mechanical engineering student (BS and MS).
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
If Extraterrestrial life doesn't exist, then the earth is flat! And the only possible danger to our society, if we make contact, are our own homegrown religious fanatics!
SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.