Two members of the Harvard Astronomy faculty (Dimitar Sasselov and Avi Loeb) are signed on the document mentioned below.

"On July 20, a consortium of scientists funded by billionaire investor Yuri Milner announced a $100 million project to scan the universe for signs of intelligent life. Milner, 53, a prescient technology investor, is also a former physicist. The endeavor, named Breakthrough Listen, is being supported by some of the world’s most well-known...

We are very sad to report that our colleague Alex Dalgarno passed away on April 9. Alex was an extraordinary scientist and teacher, who led for decades the application of atomic and molecular physics to astrophysics. He conceived of ITAMP, the Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, and led it for many years. 

This is further in regard to the sad news about Alex Dalgarno. Alex passed away at 11:25 am on April 9th. Funeral services have been arranged, and may be seen at...

Physics World: An Italian bid to host the headquarters of the world’s largest radio telescope has been judged superior to a British proposal – yet it has failed to get the green light. Edwin Cartlidge reports:

Physics World: UK and Italy vie over telescope HQ (pdf)

How do we select a cohort of promising scientists before they have made their discoveries? Read an article by Avi Loeb on fostering and nurturing talent.

Physics World: Fostering Talent (pdf)

A Science magazine issued a special issue in March, 2015 which was dedicated to the 100 years anniversary of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a project in which members of the Astronomy department are involved, is mentioned on the last two pages as the final frontier.... Read more about The Dark Lab: Special Issue of Science features EHT

"CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Among astrophysicists, Abraham Loeb is known for his creative and prolific attempts to understand the early universe.

... Read more about Much-Discussed Views That Go Way Back: Avi Loeb Ponders the Early Universe, Nature and Life

"A new theory predicts a new breed of cosmic wanderers: The idea that stars live in galaxies has been astronomy’s conventional wisdom since the 1920’s...

Read More: http://time.com/3602047/hypervelocity-stars/

On Tuesday, September 23, 2014, Avi opened the academic year's Science Series Public Lecture with an overview of current strategies for identifying evidence of life on other planets in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. For a summary of the lecture please consult this report in the Harvard Crimson: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/9/24/chair-astronomy-extraterrestrial-life/

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"With hundreds of Earth-like planets discovered over the past few years, it’s fair to say we’re on the verge of finding alien life. Two new programs at NASA hope to find and analyze thousands more of these exoplanets, as they’re called.  Scientists working on the Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite (TESS) and the James Webb Space Telescope say there’s a very real chance of finding extraterrestrial life within the next two decades. So, if we’re about to meet our extraterrestrial neighbors, let’s get to work on some opening lines. What if we’re really not...

"Humanity is on the threshold of being able to detect signs of alien life on other worlds. By studying exoplanet atmospheres, we can look for gases like oxygen and methane that only coexist if replenished by life. But those gases come from simple life forms like microbes. What about advanced civilizations? Would they leave any detectable signs?"

• CFA Press Release:  A New Approach to SETI: Targeting Alien Polluters
• NBC News:...

Video: Harvard Prof. Avi Loeb on structure formation in the early Universe, mapping hydrogen using 21 centimeter line, and density inhomogeneities.

Video: http://serious-science.org/videos/1194

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A grassroots, student-led effort to train PhD scientists to describe their research with clarity and eloquence draws interest from far and wide:

GSAS Bulletin: http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/scholarly_life/telling-the-story-of-science.php

This groundbreaking model of the universe called Illustris was created by a team of post-doc researchers headed up by Faculty member, Lars Hernquist, and graduate student, Dylan Nelson.  This work was first described in a recent Nature article.... Read more about Astronomers Create First Realistic Virtual Universe

The Big Brain Explaining the Growing Universe
"Some 14 billion years ago, a violent burst of antigravity drove space to expand at a blistering rate that momentarily exceeded the speed of light..."
Read More: http://time.com/70868/john-kovac-2014-time-100/