About Ben Zuckerman
Ben Zuckerman is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from MIT and Harvard. His major scientific interests have been the birth and death of stars and planetary systems. He has maintained a continuing interest in the question of the prevalence of life, especially intelligent life, in the Universe and since the mid-1970s regularly taught a course on "Life in the Universe". He also developed and taught a UCLA Honors course entitled "The 21st Century: Society, Environment, Ethics". He has co-edited six books including, "Extraterrestrials, Where Are They?" Cambridge University Press 1995, "The Origin and Evolution of the Universe" Jones & Bartlett 1996, and "Human Population and the Environmental Crisis" Jones & Bartlett 1995.5,6
His discoveries include the first images of extrasolar planets orbiting around brown dwarfs and around stars (other than the Sun) and the first reasonably good evidence for rocky planets orbiting an old extrasolar star.5,6
Professor Zuckerman believes that if astronomy is to have a viable future then people must confront the declining environmental health of the world. Unfortunately, major U.S. environmental organizations too often react to symptoms of environmental decline rather than to underlying causes.5
An ardent environmentalist, Zuckerman has been a Sierra Club member for over 40 years. He served on the Sierra Club Board of Directors from 2002-2005.10 He has served on the board of Californians for Population Stabilization since 1999.7 He served on the board of Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America.9 He has served on the board of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society continuously since 2002 and is a member of the Statistical oversight Board of NumbersUSA.8,11