Psychology of Space Exploration: Contemporary Research in Historical Perspective

Douglas A. Vakoch is a professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, as well as the director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute. Dr. Vakoch is a licensed psychologist in the state of California, and his psychological research, clinical, and teaching interests include topics in psychotherapy, ecopsychology, and methodologies of psychological research. As a corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics, Dr. Vakoch chairs that organization’s Study Group on Interstellar Message Construction. Through his membership in the International Institute of Space Law, he examines policy issues related to interstellar communication. He is the editor of several forthcoming volumes, including ＂Between Worlds: The Art and Science of Interstellar Message Composition＂ (MIT Press), ＂Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication＂ (NASA History Series), and ＂Rhetoric, Sex, Technology: Critical Perspectives on Ecofeminism＂(Berghahn Books). Dr. Vakoch serves as general editor of the book series Ecofeminist Theory and Practice, published by Berghahn Books, and he is a member of the editorial board of the journal ＂Ecopsychology.＂Dr. Vakoch has chaired numerous workshops and conference sessions, including several symposia at recent annual conventions of the American Psychological Association on the psychology of space exploration and on environmental psychology. While completing his M.A. in history and philosophy of science at the University of Notre Dame, he focused on both the history of astronomy and the history of psychology. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a Quantitative Concentration from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. After finishing his predoctoral clinical internship in health psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hospital and Clinics, Dr. Vakoch completed a National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychology at Vanderbilt University.