David MacMahon

Breakthrough Listen, Radio Astronomy Lab, University of California at Berkeley • Chief Engineer

After several years of running an independent consultancy specializing in embedded systems, David MacMahon joined the Radio Astronomy Lab at the University of California in 2003. One of his initial tasks was to help develop the first correlator for the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) in Northern California. David first encountered SETI professionals at the ATA, which was jointly operated by the Radio Astronomy Lab and the SETI Institute. His FPGA experience there contributed to the formation of the Community for Astronomical Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER). His work with CASPER led to many other radio astronomy instrumentation projects over the years including epoch of reionization research, black hole imaging, fast radio burst searches, and the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

In 2015 David joined the newly formed Breakthrough Listen initiative as its Chief Engineer. Breakthrough Listen, the first initiative funded by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, is the most comprehensive search for alien communications to date. In his role as Chief Engineer, David has overseen the development and deployment of high speed data acquisition and signal processing systems at numerous radio telescopes on five continents.

When David received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute he had no idea he would one day become a SETI professional himself.

Events

International Astronautical Congress 2026

5 - 9 October 2026

Antalya, Türkiye

Participation: