For days, everyone at the SETI Institute and the rest of the world have been hoping for good news about the missing submersible Titan en route to the Titanic wreckage. Those on board the sub included SETI Institute Trustee Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.

Today officials announced that there are no survivors following the discovery of debris near the site of the Titanic.

Upon hearing the news, SETI Institute CEO Bill Diamond issued the following statement:

To our friends, followers and community of the SETI Institute, it is with great sadness that we learned of the loss of our dear friend and Trustee, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, both of whom were aboard the Titan submersible that lost contact with its surface vessel on Sunday. The submersible suffered a catastrophic failure on the descent to the Titanic shipwreck site, and all on board perished instantly.

Our hearts go out to Shahzada and Suleman’s family and friends and to the other three passengers, Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who were also on board.

Shahzada was passionately curious and an enthusiastic supporter of the SETI Institute and our mission, being directly involved in philanthropic programs in education, research and public outreach. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him, especially his fellow Trustees and the leadership of the SETI Institute.

Shahzada is a member of our Board of Trustees, a dear friend, and part of the SETI Institute family. Shahzada provided generous support to the SETI Forward Award, encouraging and enabling college students to pursue careers in SETI and astrobiology science. He believed strongly that the SETI Institute must have a leadership role in expanding opportunities for these young scholars and our practicing scientists. As such, he supported the SETI Institute Endowment and challenged others to follow his example so that the SETI Institute could provide long-term funding to encourage innovative and forward-thinking scientific research only sometimes supported via typical science funding pathways. He was also passionate about our mission to share our work with the world. Shahzada supported the SETI Institute’s Drake Awards - an annual event to honor and draw attention to the most accomplished and impactful scientists seeking to understand the origin and nature of life beyond Earth.