John Billingham

Background

He was born in Worcester, England in 1930 and educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester.

Education

University College.

Career

After retiring from National Aeronautics and Space Administration he became a Trustee of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute Board of Directors. From there he went on to University College, Oxford to study physiology. He gained a Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery degree from Oxford and Guy"s Hospital, London (which is equivalent to an Doctor of Medicine in the United States).

He served as a medical officer with the Royal Air Force for seven years, rising to the rank of Squadron Leader (equivalent to Major in the United States Air Force).

In 1963, he was invited to join National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where he headed the Environmental Physiology Branch, and worked on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. In 1965 he moved to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center in California, where he headed up the Biotechnology Division, then the Extraterrestrial Research Division, and later the Life Science Division.

In 2009 he was inducted into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Hall of Fame where he was recognized for his efforts as the Father of Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence in National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He was also one of the people behind Project Cyclops. He died at the age of 83 in Grass Valley, California in August 2013.

Achievements

• Bar: New Jersey bar 1958, Oregon bar 1959.

Membership

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute]

After retiring from National Aeronautics and Space Administration he joined the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute as Senior Scientist, and in 1995 he became a Member of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute"s Board of Trustees, serving a term as Vice-Chair.

Connections

Father:

John B. Crowell

Mother:

Anna B. (Trull) Crowell

Spouse:

Rebecca Margaret McCue