Maria Duval - Who's Who in UFology Today

Who's Who in UFology Today
Below are ten names of the most educated, respected UFologists alive today. By studying their theories and published works, you will be on the forefront of UFology research.

Jerome Clark: Researcher and writer. He attended South Dakota State University and Minnesota State University, becoming interested in the UFO phenomenon in the 1960s. He initially embraced the interdimensional hypothesis to explain UFOs, but then turned to Extraterrestrial Hypothesis as the best explanation. His focus is on UFO cases with multiple witnesses, or those which leave physical evidence. He is an active board member of CUFOS, and has served as the editor of the CUFOS journal, as well as The Journal for UFO Studies. In the 1990s he published a massive three volume UFO Encyclopedia, which earned him the 1998 Benjamin Franklin Award in the Science category. He has written and co-written several books on UFOs.

Stanton T. Friedman: Nuclear Physicist. He received his BS and MS from University of Chicago, and worked for 14 years on advanced, classified projects such as nuclear aircraft, fission and fusion rockets, and nuclear power plants for space. He is possibly the best-known UFO lecturer in North America, having been the first promoter of the Roswell incident, and the most significant voice of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis. His written testimony has been used in Congressional hearings, and he has appeared before the UN twice. He has published two books covering his work with the MJ-12 documents and the Roswell incident.

Richard F. Haines, Ph.D.: Research Scientist for NASA from 1967-1988. He received his MA and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Michigan State University. He investigated aviation accidents and incidents for FAA, NTSB, and attorneys. For 37 years he has specialized in pilot sightings, amassing more than 3,000 reports. Other special interests include analysis of photographic evidence and data on Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind. He has written two books and numerous UFO articles.

Bernard Haisch, Ph.D.: Astrophysicist and President of Digital Universe Foundation; Chief Science Officer for ManyOne Networks, Inc; Director of California Institute for Physics and Astrophysics; and editor of numerous scientific journals. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Self-described as a “UFO skeptic, standing somewhere between the majority rejectionist view of mainstream scientific community and the majority accepting view of the general public,” Haisch advocates personal research of phenomenon while suspending judgment.

James A. Harder, Ph.D.: Professor of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering and Professor Emeritus at University of California at Berkeley. Harder received his BS at Caltech, and his MS and Ph.D. at University of California in Berkeley. From 1969-1982 he was the director of research for Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, one of the first civilian organizations to study UFOs. He was the primary investigator on a number of classical UFO cases, mainly related to alien abductions. He is a strong advocate of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis and the government cover-up theories.

John Keel: Parapsychologist and Journalist. Keel is best-known for his ideas that there is a direct relationship between UFOs and psychic phenomena and demonology. He is one of the most widely read and influential UFologists since the early 1970s. His 1967 book, The Mothman Prophesies�"about a strange winged creature reportedly seen in West Virginia by numerous witnesses�"was loosely adapted into a 2002 blockbuster.

Bruce Maccabbee, Ph.D.: Optical Physicist. He received his BS in physics from Worcester Polytechnical Institute, and his MA and Ph.D. at American University in Washington DC. He has been active in UFO research since the 1960s, when he joined NICAP. After its demise he joined MUFON and is now state director for Maryland. He was instrumental in establishing the Fund for UFO Research. He is the author and co-author of numerous technical articles and books.

John E. Mack, Ph.D.: Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and Pulitzer-prize winning biographer. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School after his undergraduate years at Oberlin. He graduated from the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and was Board certified in child and adult psychoanalysis. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard until his untimely death in a car accident in 2004. (We include him in this article of contemporary UFologists, since his work is relevant today.) Mack’s clinical work focused on the exploration of dreams, nightmares, and teen suicide. In 1990 he published his research on alien abduction encounters, concluding, “There is compelling powerful phenomenon here that I can’t account for any other way, that’s mysterious…it seems to me that it invites deeper, further inquiry.”

Peter A Sturrock, Ph.D.: British Scientist. He studied mathematics at Cambridge University where he earned his Ph.D. Much of his career has been devoted to electron physics, particle accelerators, plasma physics, solar physics, astrophysics, and scientific interference. He was appointed professor of applied physics at Stanford University, where he is now professor emeritus. Gaining interest in UFology, and curious about the general attitudes toward the field, Sturrock conducted two major surveys involving more than 2,500 scientists. Upon learning that a majority of scientists favored better research of UFOs, Sturrock helped establish the Society of Scientific Exploration to provide a forum for the subject. His studies have since been published.

Jacques Vallee, Ph.D.: French-born Computer Scientist and Astronomer. After receiving his BS in Mathematics and his MS in Physics, he came to the US 1962 and began working in astronomy at the University of Texas. He worked at MacDonald Observatory on NASA’s first project making a detailed informational map of Mars. He then received his Ph.D. in Computer Science at Northwestern University, where he was a student of renowned UFologist, J. Allen Hynek. Initially he promoted the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis, but later modified it, introducing the Multidimensional Visitation Hypothesis. His exploration of the commonalities between UFOs, cults, religious movements, angels, ghosts, cryptid sightings, and psychic phenomena contributed to his change in ideas. He was the model for the UFO researcher in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and served as a consultant on the set. He has authored numerous books and articles on various subjects, including UFOs.

About the Author: Francesca Black a long time science fiction buff, manages content for UFO Gifts http://www.ufo-gifts.com and Science Fiction Corner http://www.science-fiction-corner.com

Second Chance at Your Dream: Energypscyhology's gifts for optimal aging and health
Second Chance at Your Dream: Energy Psychology's Gifts for Creativity, Health and Optimal Aging by Dorothea Hover-Kramer, Ed.D. RN, DCEP We are born with possibilities. As we grow, we imagine a great dream for our lives. This dream can get submerged or even derailed by the many challenges of adult life. The second half of life, usually sometime after 50 or 60, offers us a second chance. With recent advances in healthcare, we have been given the gift of 30-50 more years. It is imperative that we find ways to use them wisely. Because most of us have extra time, we have untold opportunities for creating change within ourselves. And from there, to influence our friends, our communities, our world. Our culture avoids discussing the possibility of creative and meaningful aging. Instead, fear and denial are associated with the later half of life and its most discernible tasks such as job retirement, lifestyle changes, grandparenting or mentoring others, coping with changes in the body, losing loved ones and facing our own mortality. Rather than a time of decline, the second half of life can be an opportunity for abundant new beginnings. Through the gifts of energy psychology, a newly emerging discipline within psychotherapy, we have access now to numerous ways to stay in optimal physical balance, release dysfunctional emotional patterns, change perceptions of difficult situations, build a sense of hope and positive expectancy and to connect with our innate creativity. Unlike thinking that suggests there is some external factor, medication, or device for treating later life's challenges, self-care with energy psychology's gifts can easily be learned. Within your body resides your vital life force, the quality called Qi (pronounced "chee") discussed in classical Chinese texts for over 5,000 years and the basis of the current practices of acupuncture and acupressure. Directing this Qi with self-care techniques from the field of energy psychology assists persons to resolve internal conflicts, remove blocks to creativity and empower living more fully. EP is an excellent resource for maintaining health and flexibility. To demonstrate, please take one deep breath and let it go fully as you read this. Continuing with the breath, allow yourself to make a self-affirming statement such as, "I deeply appreciate myself with all my gifts, talents and abilities." Now add gentle rubbing of a tender spot on the left upper mid-chest toward the left shoulder while you repeat the self-affirming statement. If you are working on a challenge you might say, "Even though I have this challenge, I deeply appreciate myself and my gifts and choose to find the best solution." Continue with the breath to release any tension from your body. Once you start using similar patterns to help yourself you may find you are much less likely to get stuck on an issue or to feel helpless. It is a creative act to help yourself and open to new possibilities. Creative acts such as helping yourself and others give deeper meaning to life and, in turn, enhance your health and sense of well-being. Thriving in the second half of life is intricately linked to flexibility and creativity in interpersonal relationships. Contrary to traditional thinking that associates living well with lots of activity, the full-energy life is about connecting to inner wisdom and refining the arrow of intention. This orientation is filled with joy, peacefulness, openness, curiosity, wonder, appreciation, flexibility, exploration, new viewpoints and moving "beyond the box" of traditional thinking about aging. Moving from longevity to "fun-gevity" is made possible by letting go of stressful issues rapidly so there is available energy for more satisfying choices. For most issues, energetic self-care offers drug-free paths for relieving anxiety, finding inner harmony and thriving in advancing years. Energy psychology (EP) is the broad term describing a growing body of knowledge that joins together a large family of therapeutic approaches. They share focus on effecting rapid emotional relief with the resources of the human energy system. These resources include the meridians and their related acupoints as well as the body's biofield and the energetic centers known as charkas. In the past twenty years, energy modalities have gained popular acceptance in hospital settings for relief of anxiety and pain with methods such as Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch or Reiki. Energy psychology (EP) includes interventions known mainly by acronyms such as EFT, TFT, TAT, TAB, EDxTM, and is recognized and frequently used in psychotherapeutic settings. The international association, ACEP (Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology), has existed for 0ver 10 years and boasts a large and growing membership, research studies, conferences, and the books of Energy Psychology Press/Elite Books led by Dawson Church, author-publisher. EP also gives direct tools for overcoming limiting beliefs or releasing negative emotions. Specifically, dysfunctional beliefs about our own aging can be addressed to ensure that the next thirty to fifty years of life medical advances have brought us are vibrant, free of emotional burdens and bursting with the energy so needed to help our imperiled planet. Many myths about aging need to be debunked. Long-held beliefs such as genetic determinism, brain cell stagnation, and "natural involution" can be countered with methods to expand mental activity and optimize genetic expression. The new science of epigenetic research clearly shows how gene expression lies within control of the conscious mind and the choices we make. Neuroscience supports evidence for the plasticity of brain cells which respond continuously to our intention and emotional reactions. The more we expand the apertures of consciousness with creative thinking the more our neurons will grow and regenerate. Many baby boomers who are now over sixty are showing that life can be wonderfully fulfilling when they follow long put-off interests, reconnect with friends of their youth, and explore ways of contributing for the greater good of their communities. I encourage you to envision a new picture of audacious aging in which engaged, passionate elders bring their collective wisdom to our imperiled world. We are the talented and essential beings who, by healing and empowering ourselves, can heal and empower others. We are the ones who bring love of humanity and the natural world to our families and communities. The second half of life is indeed the opportunity to reclaim our life's dream!

Dr. Dorothea Hover-Kramer, psychologist and clinical nurse specialist, is author of the first book to present the breakthrough techniques of Energy Psychology for assisting the creative individuals who are in the second half of life. It is entitled Second Chance at Your Dream and will be published November 15, 2008 by Energy Psychology Press, Elite Books, Santa Rosa, CA. for more information please visit Dorothea�s Website: www.SecondChanceDream.com