I am 35 years old and from Aarhus in Denmark. My educational background is a masters degree from Aarhus University in mathemathics and physics spezialising in astronomy. I am also a bachelor in economics and have a shorter (1½ years) education as an all-round software programmer. As a result my friends call me the "eternity-student". :-) Having finished my latest university study I am now working as a high school teacher. I used to do a lot of athletics (in the last few years mostly the throwing events), but due to lack of time I now only do jogging and cycling in the summer (the danish winter is dark, rainy and cold - YUCK !). Other hobbies include partying and doing stupid things with my friends "The Børglum Alchoholic society".
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
I think SETI@home is an innovating and promising project. I have always been very interested in the subject SETI. Considering the basic facts of nature: 1. Billions of existing galaxies with billions of stars of which we now recently know have planets. 2. Almost the same distribution of the elements everywhere we look in the universe. I find it very improbable that intelligent carbon-based life hasn't evolved numerous other places in the universe. Getting in contact with such a civilisation would in my opinion be the most exciting and important event in human history. I am therefore happy SETI@home gives me the chance to give a small contribution to SETI. I don't think SETI is a dangerous project. Any communicating civilisation is probably more advanced than us, and therefore probably know about our existence anyway. I think it is to early and expensive for us to start transmitting beacons at this time. For the first century we should concentrate on listening. Also we are constantly sending weak beacons in the form of radio- and televison transmissions.
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.
