On 3 February 2022, the Council of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science of Würzburg University appointed Professor Bohlander to the Scientific Advisory Council of its Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Extraterrestrial Studies (IFEX). He will be advising IFEX in particular on legal aspects surrounding the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), which is one of the Centre's research fields.
Michael's research currently focuses on the relationship between SETI and human law in the wider sense, including the development of a cosmic species awareness of humanity in preparation of contact with ETI, and specific issues such as the regulation of protocols following signal detection, the implications of the possibility of hostile first contact for the laws of armed conflict, and the ensuing re-conceptualisation of the planetary defence framework. He is a member of the UK SETI Research Network, the British Interplanetary Society, and of the International Institute of Space Law.
He has published on SETI in the leading generalist journal in the field, Acta Astronautica, in Futures, and is writing a monograph on hostile first contact for Springer's leading series Space and Society (publication expected 2023).
photo: University of Würzburg
