The astrophysicist after which our planetarium is named, Dr. Frank Drake, is widely considered the foremost pioneer in the search for extra-terrestrial life. Dr. Drake is the founder of SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) and most notably known for the Drake Equation. Drake is a member of the National Academy of Sciences where he chaired the Board of Physics and Astronomy of the National Research Council (1989–92). He also served as President of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. He was a Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University (1964–84) and served as the Director of the Arecibo Observatory. He is currently involved in “The Carl Sagan Center for the Study of life in the Universe.” Drake co-designed the Pioneer plaque with Carl Sagan in 1972, the first physical message sent into space, which was designed to be understandable by extraterrestrials should they encounter it.