SETI Institute President and CEO Bill Diamond to Speak at the National Space Society’s ISDC Conference

The 44th Annual International Space Development Conference is in McLean, VA, June 4-7, 2026

EXPLORATION PARK, FL, UNITED STATES, April 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The National Space Society is pleased to announce a keynote by Bill Diamond at its annual International Space Development Conference, which will be held from June 4-7 in McLean, VA. Diamond is the president and CEO of the SETI Institute, a nonprofit astrophysics and astrobiology research and education organization focused on the study of life in the universe.

NSS president Isaac Arthur said, “We’re thrilled to have Mr. Diamond join us at this year’s ISDC. Many of SETI’s interests and priorities align with our own.” Notably, Arthur has created extensive programming about SETI and extraterrestrial life on his YouTube channel, Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur. The ISDC will also begin featuring an interstellar track this year, co-chaired by Arthur and SETI Institute planetary scientist Dr. Pascal Lee, which will include presentations on SETI. “The ISDC is the world’s largest space conference open to the general public, and SETI's work is sure to be of great interest.” added Arthur.

Diamond said, “Few human endeavors are as awe inspiring, fascinating and challenging as the exploration of space. The sheer scale of the endeavor and the profound nature of the questions being addressed cut across all sectors of science, industry, and society. It is an honor to be selected as a keynote speaker this year for the National Space Society’s ISDC, which is the preeminent gathering of aerospace and space science professionals, educators, advocates, students, and enthusiasts."

Prior to joining SETI in 2015, Diamond worked across three decades in laser photonics and optical communications networks, X-ray imaging, and semiconductor processing technologies. His corporate background ranges from venture-backed start-ups to Fortune 100 multinationals, including CEO positions at WaveSplitter Technologies, Denselight Semiconductor in Singapore, and Xradia, Inc, (now part of Zeiss). He was also President of COMET Technologies USA.

Diamond holds a B.A. in physics from Holy Cross College and an MBA from Georgetown University. He is a past member of the Advisory Board for the McDonough School of Business Administration at Georgetown and is a current member of the Optical Society of America, the International Astronomical Congress, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Science and Innovation Council, BASIC, in San Francisco.

About the ISDC
The ISDC is the annual conference of the National Space Society (NSS), bringing together well over 1000 leading executives, managers, engineers, scientists, educators, students, and laypeople from a wide variety of backgrounds to join in working toward the common goal of developing a spacefaring civilization. The conference has attracted tens of thousands of people from dozens of countries and featured important thought leaders from NASA, commercial space, media, academia, and other space-related fields. The theme for ISDC 2026 is Space for Us All.

Subject areas for ISDC 2026 include the exploration, development, and settlement of the Moon, Mars, and cislunar space; deep space exploration; innovative spaceflight technology; the commercialization of space and space infrastructure; life support systems; collaboration in space; living in space; space solar power; the problem of space debris and mediation solutions; planetary defense; space law; and both national and international space policy, among others. For more information go to the ISDC website, isdc.nss.org.

About the NSS
The National Space Society is the preeminent non-partisan citizens’ voice on space exploration, development, and settlement, reaching millions through its membership, numerous outreach channels, and media activities. The organization was founded in 1987 via a merger of the National Space Institute and the L5 Society. To learn more about the NSS and its mission to establish humanity as a spacefaring species, visit us on the web at nss.org.

Rod Pyle
National Space Society
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