The Missed Signals Project is dedicated to probing the intelligence of humpback whales by examining human perceptual limitations and the hypothesis that critical whale biosignals have gone undetected or misunderstood. By identifying where and why these signals may be missed, we seek to expand how intelligence, communication, and cognition are recognized beyond human‑centered frameworks. The insights gained are applied both to improving cetacean conservation strategies on Earth and to informing the search for life and intelligence elsewhere in the universe.
Meet The Team
Fred Sharpe, PhD
Fred Sharpe, PhD
Fred Sharpe, PhD
Dr. Fred Sharpe has been a leading whale researcher in Southeast Alaska since the late 1980’s and founded the Alaska Whale Foundation (AWF) in 1996. His research has documented numerous individuals, seasonal movements, foraging ecology including team behaviors, and acoustic behavior. He has appeared in multiple documentaries. In recent
Dr. Fred Sharpe has been a leading whale researcher in Southeast Alaska since the late 1980’s and founded the Alaska Whale Foundation (AWF) in 1996. His research has documented numerous individuals, seasonal movements, foraging ecology including team behaviors, and acoustic behavior. He has appeared in multiple documentaries. In recent years, Sharpe has focused on the study of aerial whale sounds, including low‑frequency thrums, trumpet‑like exhalations, wheezes, and other respiratory‑associated signals that propagate through both air and water and are often overlooked in traditional cetacean bioacoustics. As a SETI investigator, he explored how structured communication systems may exist beyond human perceptual biases, using humpback whales as an Earth‑based analogue for non‑human intelligence. His SETI work included the first documented “conversation” with a humpback whale which led to worldwide press in late 2023.
Joe Olson
Fred Sharpe, PhD
Fred Sharpe, PhD
Joe Olson is the Founder and current President of the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. He was the Founder and President of Cetacean Research Technology, a company that he directed for 29 years that designs and manufactures hydrophones and underwater recording systems for cetacean, fish, and other subaquatic research.
Joe Olson is the Founder and current President of the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. He was the Founder and President of Cetacean Research Technology, a company that he directed for 29 years that designs and manufactures hydrophones and underwater recording systems for cetacean, fish, and other subaquatic research. His hydrophone systems have been deployed by several hundred scientific organizations and researchers throughout the world. Joe's expertise spans physics, engineering, bioacoustics, and field practice, with a focus on holistic systems design that addresses how recording instruments, sensor configuration, and signal processing shape what can be perceived and analyzed. He configures microphone and hydrophone systems for the Missed Signals Project that address the practical challenges of capturing low‑frequency and transient signals such as thrums, trumpets, and percussive surface sounds. Joe recently established the new Cetacean Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization to fund novel cetacean research, for which he serves as President.
Lisa Walker
Fred Sharpe, PhD
Lisa Walker
Lisa Walker investigates the song of the humpback whale as a powerful model for exploring non-human intelligence. Walker is a Leonardo@Djerassi Arts Fellow and producer of the docuseries Whales and Aliens: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence in the Salish Sea. Her album Beyond Human: Songs for Other Species pushes the boundarie
Lisa Walker investigates the song of the humpback whale as a powerful model for exploring non-human intelligence. Walker is a Leonardo@Djerassi Arts Fellow and producer of the docuseries Whales and Aliens: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence in the Salish Sea. Her album Beyond Human: Songs for Other Species pushes the boundaries of composition by exploring Ai-driven hybrid architectures. Her interdisciplinary work has been recognized with awards for music (NAV), scientific writing (AbSciCon), and research (African Bioacoustics). Describing Humpback song as a “masterpiece of hierarchies,” her work focuses on uncovering the rules and logic that shape its structure, syntax and evolution. Drawing on deep evolutionary blueprints, she explores how we might build a species -agnostic communication protocol, and approaches her interactions with humpbacks as a form of proto–first contact. Through this work, she offers insight into how we might prepare for the possibility of discovering - or being discovered by - life beyond Earth.