French-born astronomer Jean Heidmann, an enthusiastic supporter of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), died on 3 July. He began his career at Cornell University, USA, conducting research on cosmic rays. He then moved to the Paris Observatory, Meudon, France, to pursue his interests in radioastronomy. In recent years he advocated the design and ultimate construction of a lunar SETI radiotelescope fully shielded from terrestrial interference. Author of many popular books on astronomy and cosmology, Heidmann lectured at the ICTP Conference on Chemical Evolution in 1992, 1995, and 1997.