Alan Tough was professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto whose work included the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Tough was the founder and coordinator of the Internet-based "Invitation to ETI", and presented papers at most SETI conferences and at the annual Contact conference. He served on the IAA SETI Permanent Study Group and was appointed co-chair of the Cosmic Call Advisory Board for Team Encounter. His publications included Crucial Questions About the Future, A Message From Future Generations, and a foundation paper on the array of search strategies. Tough was also interested in the very long-term future of human civilization: he served as coordinator of the Future Generations Forum on the World Future Society website. Another of his interest's was humanity's search for meaning and purpose on the individual and societal level.

Allen Tough and his wife lived in a Toronto suburb, where he was active as the coordinator of the Neighborhood Watch annual picnic. He enjoyed reading, walking, music, wilderness, hiking, conversations, the World Wide Web, and his two grown children.