Laurance R. Doyle is a scientist who received his Ph.D. from the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg. He has worked at the SETI Institute since 1987 where he is a principal investigator and astrophysicist. His main area of study has been the formation and detection of extrasolar planets, but he has also worked on communications theory. In particular he has written on how patterns in animal communication relate to humans with an emphasis on cetaceans. He grew up on a dairy farm in Cambria, California and therefore didn't have much access to information about stars. But by reading books at the local library, Doyle was able to develop his knowledge in astronomy, and eventually obtain his Bachelor's and Master's of Science degrees in astronomy from San Diego State University. His first job was at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an imaging engineer, where he was in charge of analysing pictures of Jupiter and Saturn sent from the spacecraft Voyager. He moved to Heidelberg, Germany, to help analyse images of Halley's Comet. He got his doctorate in Astrophysics at the University of Heidelberg. In May 2005 he appeared on a National Geographic Channel special titled Extraterrestrial. 

January 1st, 1953 in (Age 71)