SETI is a quest;it is an effort to tap into the global brain trust, harness the power of citizen scientist, and educate the next generation of Earthlings to improve current searches for extraterrestrial intelligence and better understand our place in the cosmos. SETI is the search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. It is the exploratory science that seeks evidence of life in the universe by looking for some signature of its technology.

From 1994-2004, the center for SETI Research at the SETI institute was funded entirely by donations from individuals and grants from private foundations. Currently the center for SETI research develops signal-processing technology and uses it to search for signals from advanced technological civilizations in our galaxy.