Who are the speakers at the 2024 SOL Foundation Symposium?

This year's annual SOL Foundation Symposium will be held 22-23 November 2024, in San Francisco. Well-known speakers will be:

* Dr. Garry Nolan 

Dr. Nolan is the Rachford and Carlota A. Harris Professor in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

* Dr. Peter Skafish

Dr. Skafish is a sociocultural anthropologist, editor, and translator who has held faculty and research positions at UC Berkeley, the Collège de France, McGill University, and the Bauhaus University, Weimar.

* Jonathan Berte

Jonathan Berte is the founder, chairman of the board, and driving force behind Robovision, a leading AI solution provider on account of their deep learning platform, RVAI.

* Dr. Eric Davis, theoretical and applied physicist

* Rear Admiral (ret.) Dr. Tim Gallaudet, former administrator, National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration

* Ryan Graves, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Aerospace

* Leslie Kean, journalist and author

* Dr. Jacques Vallee, computer scientist and author of multiple books on UAP

* Dr. Beatriz Villarroel, astronomer.

Other speakers

Dr. Stephen Finley.

Chair of African and African American Studies, Louisiana State University. A search of his previous/current interests in UAP located:

In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam on JSTOR

A book titled "In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam." (2020. Duke University Press.) Plus, three presentations.

“African American UFO Traditions and the Nation of Islam.” Super Stories Symposia Series 3: Cosmology, Eschatology, and UFOs. (Invited Public Lecture). The Esalen Institute Center for Theory and Research, Big Sur, California. Dianna Pasulka and Jeffrey J. Kripal, Conveners. January 23, 2019.

“Cosmology and Eschatology in the Nation of Islam’s UFO.” Super Stories Symposia Series 3: Cosmology, Eschatology, and UFOs. The Esalen Institute Center for Theory and Research, Big Sur, California. Dianna Pasulka and Jeffrey J. Kripal, Conveners. January 22, 2019.

“Wheels, Wombs, & Women: Louis Farrakhan, UFOs, and the Religious Meaning of Black Women’s Embodiment in the Nation of Islam.” (Invited Lecture). Amherst College, Amherst, MA, December 3, 2018.

Yoshiharu Asakawa. 

Asakawa is a congressman of the House of Representatives of Japan, and a member of Japan's Innovation Party. In April 2023 he raised the issue of UAP in the House of Representatives. For an article featuring an interview with him, please click here. 

Kirk McConnell.

Is a retired professional staff member of the U.S. Congress. According to the website of SMI, where he is now a senior advisor: 

"...he brings 37 years of as a professional staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee, the House Intelligence Committee,..."

As many of these committees have been briefed on the topic of UAP by various individuals, it would be expected that McConnell would have participated in preparing for these briefings, making him knowledgeable on the topic. It will be interesting to see just what his presentation covers. 

McConnell also sits on the Advisory Board of the recently created UAP Disclosure Fund. 

Eric Schrock.

Schrock is a former Deputy Director, Technology Development and Integration, Lockheed Martin. For more on his career click here. As a former employee of one of the large aerospace companies, it will be interesting to see what he has to say on the topic of UAP. 

Rizwan Virk.

Is an entrepreneur, investor, futurist, a pioneer of the video game industry, and film producer. In an October 2019 article written by M. J. Banias, about UAP eXpeditions, it was revealed that Virk was one of two sources which had signed on to help with securing investment for the project. An April 2021 article by Virk, argued for a serious study of UAP. In a May 2022 article, Virk argued that the topic of UAP needs to be viewed as a scientific issue not a military one. In addition, he stated that adequate funds and resources need to be allocated to the topic. 

Dr. Alexander Wendt.

Is Mershon Professor of International Security and Professor of Political Science at The Ohio State University. Wendt's interest in the topic of UAP goes back to at least 2008 when he co-authored, with Raymond Duvall, a paper titled "Sovereignty and the UFO." In February 202 he gave a TED talk, titled "Wanted: A Science of UFOs." 

According to The Ohio State University's website, Wendt is:

"Taking a short break from quantum, Wendt is currently writing a book on UAP and human security in the light of the 2021 Pentagon report confirming that UAP, formerly UFOs, are real and a 'potential threat to national security.'"

Academics and their interest in UAP

 "A teacher or scholar in a university or other institute of higher learning."

Introduction

This article takes a look at the time period 2006-2024, in terms of academics who have taken an interest in the subject of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP.) It is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of such academics, but to highlight some individuals who have made a significant contribution to academic research on UAP.

The early days

The two most prominent academic UAP researchers of former times, were J. Allen Hynek and James E. McDonald.

Dr. J. Allen Hynek was an astronomer at NorthWestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA. Hynek was actively engaged with the official United States government UAP agency, Project Blue Book. Originally a sceptic on the issue of "flying saucers" he came to accept that there was a real anomalous phenomena involved. He authored several books including "The UFO Experience" (1972. Regnery New York.) This was followed by a co-authored book "The Edge of Reality" with Dr. J. Vallee (1975. CreateSpace.) Finally, "The Hynek UFO Report." (1977. Dell. New York.) Even today, these books remain essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in the topic. 

Dr. James E. McDonald was a senior Physicist at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics and a Professor of Meteorology at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, Arizona, USA. McDonald spent the years between 1958 and 1971 conducting extensive research into UAP. His documentation may be accessed at the Special Collections section of the University of Arizona. These files include audio recordings of interviews with Australian UAP witnesses, recorded during McDonald's 1967 visit to Australia. 

Battaglia

Debbora Battaglia, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadly, MA, USA, was the editor of a book titled "E.T. Culture: Anthropology in outerspaces." (2005. Duke Uni. Press.) This work examined communities centered around belief in "aliens."

Kripal

Image courtesy Amazon Books

"Authors of the Impossible" (2011. University of Chicago Press) by Jeffrey J Kripal, featured sections on the work of Charles Fort, Jacques Vallee, and Bertand Meheust. Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought, at Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA. 

Eghigian

In 2014, an intriguing article appeared, written by Professor Greg Eghigian, Professor of History and Bioethics, Penn State University, Pennsylvania, USA, He published an article about the wave of "flying saucer" sightings on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean between 1946-1960. The article was titled "A Transatlantic Buzz: Flying Saucers, Extraterrestrials and America in Postwar Germany." (Journal of Transatlantic Studies, 12 (2014):282-303.) Eghigian followed this up in 2024 with a book titled "After the Flying Saucers Came." See further details below.

Cusack

Professor Carole Cusack (sydney.edu.au)

Carole M. Cusack is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Between 2014 and 2021 Cusack published a number of journal articles which discussed, among other things, UFO cults, apocalyptic expectations, and other aspects of UFO "religions." My article on Cusack's work, including links to some of her articles, may be read here. 

Lepsetter

"The Resonance of Unseen Things: Poetics, Power, Captivity and UFOs in the American Uncanny" (2016. University of Michigan Press) is a book by Associate Professor, Department of Communications and Culture, Indiana University, Indiana, USA, Susan Lepsetter. From chapter one of the book:

"This is not a book about UFOs. It’s not a history of UFO belief, nor a sociology of believers. Rather, this is a book about a vernacular American poetics, something you can hear building up in the stories I will tell."

Dodd

An academic tutor at the School of Communication & Arts, University of Queensland, Adam Dodd, in 2018, published a paper titled "Strategic Ignorance and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Critiquing the Discursive Segregation of UFOs from Scientific Inquiry." (Journal of Astropolitics. 2018. 16(1):75-95.) The abstract for the paper may be read here.

Pasulka

Diana W. Pasulka is a Professor of Religious Studies, at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. She has been studying the topic of UAP since 2012. Her first book about the topic was titled "American Cosmic Space: Aliens, UFOs and Why we Believe in Them." (2019. Oxford University Press.) It explores the mechanisms which result in a belief in extraterrestrial life; and argues that movies and television shows are being used in place of conventional religions to look at such issues. A follow up book, published in 2024 is described below.

Masters

One of the proposed hypotheses as to the origin of UAP, is that they are us in the future. Human beings as time travelers. This is the hypothesis advanced by Dr. Michael P. Masters, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, whose expertise is in the field of Biological Anthropology. in his 2019 book titled "Identified Flying Objects: A multidisciplinary Scientific Approach to the UFO Phenomenon." He later expanded his views, see below.

Halperin

Image courtesy Amazon Books

"UFOs are a myth, says David J. Halperin - but myths are real. The power and fascination of the UFO has nothing to do with space travel or life on other planets. It's about us, our longings and terrors, and especially the greatest terror of all: the end of our existence. This is a book about UFOs that goes beyond believing in them or debunking them and to a fresh understanding of what they tell us about ourselves as individuals, as a culture, and as a species."

So goes part of the blurb for the book "Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO," (2020. Stanford University Press.) written by David J. Halperin, a retired Professor of Jewish Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. 

Jorjani

In his 2021 book titled "Close Encounters," American philosopher, Jason Reza Jorjani, State University of New York, USA, explores seven potential hypotheses for the origin of UAP. Namely, the Extraterrestrial hypothesis; the Breakaway Civilization hypothesis; the Inter-Dimensional hypothesis; Time Travellers; the Ultra-terrestrial hypothesis; the Crypto-terrestrial hypothesis and the Simulation Avatars hypothesis. The blurb for the book includes the statement "In fact humanity cannot survive the disclosure of what is detailed in this book." 

Madden

James D. Madden is an Associate Professor of Philosophy, at Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas, USA. In 2023 his book titled "Unidentified Flying Hyperobject: UFOs, Philosophy and the End of the World" (Independently published) puts forwards some intriguing ideas on the topic. He suggests that understanding UFOs requires a re-thinking of ourselves and our position in the wider universe. 

Andresen

2023 also saw the publication of two relevant books by American academic, PhD, Jasine Andresen. These were titled "Hyperconflation: Recommending a Relational Alternative to the Datacentric Approach to UAP;" and "Hyperconvergence: Religion, Politics and UFOs," both independently published. For my article on these two books, click here. 

Eghigian

Greg Eghigian, Professor of History and Bioethics, who wrote the 2014 paper "A Transatlantic Buzz" published a book in 2024 titled "After the Flying Saucers Came.: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon." (Oxford University Press.) From the blurb: 

"...traces how a seemingly isolated incident sparked an international drama involving shady figures, questionable evidence, suspicions of conspiracy, hoaxes, new religions, scandals, unsettling alien encounters, debunkers and celebrities.  It examines how descriptions, theories and debated about unidentified flying objects and alien abduction changed over time and how they appeared in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Russia." 

Pasulka 

Image courtesy Amazon Books

Also in 2024, appeared a second book by Dr. Diana W. Pasulka, namely "Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligence." (St Martins Essentials.) As part of her research Pasulka immersed herself in the world of experiencers, scientists, journalists and media personalities. She concluded that "...the UFO event was a spiritual reality for many people." Citing Jacques Vallee's UAP research methodology she writes "It is time to take Vallee's advice and turn back to the witnesses."

As an example Pasulka devotes two chapters of her book to the work of Dr. Iya Whiteley, a U.K. space psychologist. She created a program "...developing means of communication with intelligent non-human life that already surrounds us." Following chapters look at individual experiencers and their daily reality.

Today

Today there are literally dozens of academics studying UAP; and academic workshops and conferences, where academics present papers on the subject. The most recent such workshop was held in Germany, between 6-7 June 2024, sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Extraterrestrial Studies, housed at the Julius-Maximilian University of Wurzburg, Germany. Sixteen speakers presented on a wide range of topics with many of the presenters, academics from European countries. Overall, it was a truly international event. 

Another recent event, featuring academics from the U.S.A. was an initiative funded by the National Science Foundation and held 15-17 May 2024, in Virginia, USA. This was a workshop titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP): A Dialogue on Science, Public Engagement and Communication." Its purpose was to outline a path to engage science and the general public, concerning UAP. For my article on this workshop, click here.

 Learned groups

A number of learned groups/institutions have emerged in recent times, among them:

Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU)

Founded in 2018, its mission is to promote "...rigorous scientific examination of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena..." It presents itself as a "think tank" of academics, and other professionals. It holds annual conferences and produces both a quarterly newsletter and a series of technical reports on its analyses of aspects of the phenomena, including case studies. 

The Society for UAP Studies

In simple, the Mission of The Scoiety for UAP Studies is to promote academic research on UAP via interdisciplinary study. It has a board of Directors which includes Philosopher Michael C. Cifone, University of Maryland, USA. 

There is also a Board of Advisers, which includes Greg Eghigian; Kimberly Engels, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Molloy University; Kevin H. Knuth, Professor of Physics, State University of New York, Albany; and Beatriz Villarroel, Associate Professor of Astrophysics, Nordic Institute of Physics, Sweden. 

The Society has its own peer reviewed Journal titled "Lumina;" held its inaugural Symposium in February 2023 and runs several online courses. 

The Galileo Project

Founded in July 2021 by Harvard University's Professor Avi Loeb

"The goal of the Galileo Project is to bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures of Extraterrestrial Technological Civilizations (ETCs) from accidental or anecdotal observations and legends to the mainstream of transparent, validated and systematic scientific research. This project is complementary to traditional SETI, in that it searches for physical objects, and not electromagnetic signals, associated with extraterrestrial technological equipment."

The SOL Foundation 

The SOL Foundation for Advanced Scientific and Policy Research, was established in California in July 2023. Its incorporation document shows its team includes Dr. Garry Nolan and Dr. Peter Skafish. Its website states: 

"The Sol Foundation brings together experts from academia and government to address the philosophical, policy and scientific problems raised by the likely presence on the Earth of UAP." 

Dr. Garry Nolan is the Rachford and Carlotto Harris Professor, in the Department of Pathology of Stanford University's School of Medicine. 

Dr. Peter Skafish is the Director of the Institute of Speculation and Critical Inquiry and is a sociocultural anthropologist. 

The Foundation stimulates serious research into the topic of UAP, and to date has published a number of policy "white papers." Its advisory board includes Kevin Knuth; Jeffrey Kripal; Diana Pasulka, and Beatriz Villarroel.

Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Extraterrestrial Studies,

Housed at the Julius-Maximilian University of Wurzburg, Germany, this Research Centre:

"The Centre is dedicated to developing and promoting interdisciplinary aspects of the extraterrestrial studies by means of basic research, development and participation in scientific-technical application projects, as well as in terms of the creation of appropriate training programs."

One of its work areas is the study of UAP. One project is SkyCAM-5:

"...an experimental test platform for the autonomous detection of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs). Through the use of image processing algorithms, the sky is continually monitored for unusual phenomena...The main objective of the camera system is to detect UAPs. It can also detect short duration luminous phenomena such as lighting and meteors."

 As mentioned earlier in this article, the Centre held a UAP workshop between 6-7 June 2024. Sixteen speakers presented on a wide range of topics with many of the presenters, academics from European countries.

Update: 9 October 2024. 

Dr. Karl Svozil, is a physicist, Vienna Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Austria. In 2023, his book "UFOs: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: Observations, Explorations and Speculations" was published by Springer. Svozil writes that the subject of UAP deserves serious scientific study, separate from any military investigations. From the back cover, the "...book surveys the history of UFO observations, the variety of recorded phenomena, and recounts the efforts of investigative commissions and their published findings." Some observations currently defy conventional explanation. The book concludes with some plans and ideas for future research. 

What's new in Elizondo's book

Imminent

Courtesy Amazon Books

"Imminent" (2024. William Morrow. New York) is the name of Luis Elizondo's book about his time looking at UAP.  I would recommend the book to any member of the general public who wishes to find out what has been going on in the field of UAP research in recent years, as well as for those who have long studied the topic. I have delayed posting this piece, so that by the time you read it, you will most likely have had time to read the book for yourself.

The following extracts are pieces of information that were new to me. They are in no particular order, and I have grouped some items which appear at different parts of the book, together under one heading, e.g. "cases." 

Great Skills

'Great skills was a long-running program that Army intelligence used to recruit young soldiers whom they had identified as having special talents and that they could train and use as soldier spies.' Comment: Essentially Elizondo was trained to "remote view." 

Interloper- circa 2015

Comment: There had long been rumors that at some point the AATIP attempted to "bait" a UAP. In the book Elizondo confirms that there was such a plan. 

"The plan for interloper was to use one of our nuclear-powered strike groups as bait. We would pick a designated spot in the Atlantic and drop in a large nuclear footprint, one irresistible to "our friends from out of town" as they were later called...the trap would be set. Nukes and water, irresistible...Our partner agencies would allocate hidden collection assets in the vicinity..."

"The NSA and CIA offered to provide assets as well."

Comment: The plan was never put into place. 

Implants

"I once handled one of these implants myself, provided to me by a hospital in the Department of Veteran Affairs, where it had been removed from a US military servicemember who encountered a UAP. The material, no longer or wider than a joint of one of your fingers, looked more like a microchip encapsulated by a slimy translucent casing of tissue. It looked very similar to mother-of-pearl. Under a microscope it was still moving somehow... AAWSAP/AATIP had also obtained photographs of these sorts of tiny objects from living foreign military pilots."

Biological samples

"Eventually, after relentlessly pushing, I learned that nonhuman biological samples, had moved many times and some were now either at Fort Derick, Marland or with the US Food and Drug Administration...I had no way of getting these or other samples which only increased the frustration we all felt."

Crash retrievals

"We were told specifically that a defense contractor, associated with the Legacy Program, was in possession of UAP materials of nonhuman origin, made by some civilization from some distant planet. When Jay went to enquire, the contractor acknowledged that, yes, they were in possession of the material. They said they could give us access to it but first we needed to get permission from the Secretary of the US Air Force."

Senior officials told me continuously and confidentially that big aerospace companies had been part of the Legacy Program to retrieve and reverse engineer crash materials. The big names included Lockheed Martin, TRW, McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Graumann, Boeing, Raytheon, BAE Systems, and the Aerospace Corporation. ...It was also told that Monsanto a biotechnology corporation, absorbed by Bayer in 2018, may have historically been involved, most likely with biological specimens."

"Devon Woods"

"In 2010, a man I'll call Devon Woods...became a senior director at DIA." Devons told Elizondo that "It's demonic...They are deceivers. Demons." 

Comment: Two possibilities for the identify of "Devon Woods.": a. David Shedd Aug 2010-Aug 2014, or b. Douglas Wise Aug 2014 to 2016. Most likely Shedd.

Time effects

"Some pilots who were debriefed insisted that a particular encounter lasted only five minutes, but the clock indicated that thirty minutes had in fact elapsed." Aircraft consumed 5 minutes of fuel.

Cases

a. 2013 -Los Alamos, New Mexico. Several orbs seen - moved towards the test site, hovered over a specific "device" and then zipped away. Later, others saw a formation of disc like objects in the same area.

b. Predator drone surveilling a nuclear facility in a potentially hostile country when its cameras picked up three luminous objects. Just three dots. The dots began to fly in a regimented formation. A perfect triangle. As the dots approached the Predator they became more distinguishable. They were not only flying they were solid in structure. For 23 minutes these craft tormented the Predator.. They traversed sixty miles in the blink of an eye, travelling to the horizon, only to dart back and shadow the Predator within a few hundred feet. If that were not amazing enough, the three craft would reorient themselves switching from a wedge formation to a linear formation. 

c. A senior CIA official and his wife - UAP backyard. Awoke lying on the ground. CIA officer had a small hole at the back of his neck. A small metallic object was recovered from the wife's nose when she sneezed. CIA examined the couple. Fascinating but Elizondo and Stratton agreed to focus on the nuts and bolrs.

d. Video from a naval aviator. Routine mission. cockpit camera. "The pilot is trying to get a visual on what the radar is seeing.... just then a wedge-shaped object craft zooms by the cockpit as close as fifty feet."

Bodies

"Credible sources, including those involved with AATIP, told me the facts from several historic UAP crashes from which non-human bodies were recovered by the US, in addition to the Roswell crash."

William Livingston

Comment: One consultant to Elizondo, was one William "Will" Livingston. For years presided over the CIA "weird" desk. Medical doctor and surgeon. Based out of Detroit. Seems to refer to Christopher 'Kit' Green, without naming him. 

2004 Tic Tac event

Comment: Elizondo says Fravor's WSO was Jim Slaight. However, this is incorrect. Slaight was Dietrich's WSO. 

Medical effects

a. "People would be surprised to learn that the US government has awarded multiple servicemen 100 per disability in writing, due to medical issues relating from their close encounter with UAP."

b. "Two colleagues in particular were under medical care for both cutaneous and visceral injuries that were sustained from interacting with UAP while working with AAWSAP/AATIP."

c. "While I am not at liberty to go into details here, I learned of military servicemen and intelligence officers who succumbed to their injury and lost their lives due to the biological effects of UAP encounters."

The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation speaks out about ETs

Extraterrestrial life

The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) S. Somanath, featured in an article on the "India Today" website, dated 22 August 2024. Part of the article reads:

"In a thought-provoking statement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chief has shared his perspective on the existence of extraterrestrial life, suggesting that alien civilisations are not only possible but likely to exist throughout the universe.

The Isro Chairman emphasised the rapid pace of human technological advancement, noting that, just a century ago our civilisation had minimal technological capabilities compared to today."

The India Today website article was reporting on a podcast, hosted by Ranveer Allahbadia, which interviewed S. Somanath. 

S. Somanath

Another website carried more detail from the podcast interview, including:

"Alien systems that are 1,000 years more advanced than us will always be here," he said, suggesting that such advanced civilisations may already be present, perhaps observing or interacting with the universe in ways we cannot yet understand."

"Podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia asked S. Somanath why we mainly hear about UFOs being sighted in America (USA) and South America. Somanath then explains that, scientifically speaking the geographic positions of these regions favor the occurrence of these sightings more than equatorial regions, due to climatic issues. He concluded by saying that, from a non-scientific point of view, many UFO stories are also fabricated...Soon after, the podcaster asked the following question 'But do you think our planet is visited by extraterrestrials?' And, without hesitation S. Somanath responds 'Absolutely without a doubt. My conscience says yes, although I have no proof. As Chairman of Isro, I am telling you this...There are definitely aliens out there in the universe. Aliens means living systems and cultures elsewhere in the universe. If they are ahead in technology by just a thousand years, or 10,000 years, they would definitely visit us...they would be visiting Earth frequently without us knowing.'"

Other space agencies

These statements by the Chairman of ISRO can be contrasted and compared to those of the space agencies of other countries.

France

The French space agency CNES has hosted a group within its organisational structure, studying UAP, for decades. This UAP group has operated under a number of names since its inception, with the current iteration being GEIPAN. It collects sightings from witnesses living in French territories, analyses them and assigns an explanation to them, if one can be found, then openly publishes the details on its website.

USA

In June 2022, NASA announced that an independent study team was to be set up to examine UAP. It reported its findings in September 2023.  Arising out of the findings, NASA established a NASA Director of UAP Research. 

Australia

In an article dated April 2024, I reported upon Freedom of Information Act requests which attempted to establish whether or not the Australian Space Agency (ASA) had any interest in the topic of UAP. I secured a copy of a briefing paper intended for use by the head of the ASA when presenting at the Senate Estimates Committee hearings. Included in these briefing notes were the following statements:

"The Agency does not monitor UAPs, or UFOs in Australia nor seek to resolve these issues....The Agency has no records relating to UAPs or UFOs in Australia...'

Society for UAP Studies - 2024 Conference

Introduction

According to their website:

"The Society for UAP Studies is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization that seeks to bring together serious thinkers (both academics and professionals) who are committed to advancing the study of the UAP through rigorous scholarly engagement...While we are in conversation with classical 'ufology,' as an organization we do not align ourselves specifically with this tradition..."

Conference 2024

The Society will hold its annual conference, on-line, between 16-18th August 2024. It is titled "Varieties & Trajectories of Contemporary UAP Studies." The following provides details of the speaker and the title of their presentation. Each hyperlink will take you to an abstract of that presentation. 

Keynote speaker - Dr. Brenda Denzler, Independent Researcher and Board of Advisors, Society for UAP Studies (U.S.A.) "The Discovery of OIL -Other Intelligent Life."

Dr. Bertrand Meheust, Independent Researcher & Steering Committee of L'Institute Metapsychique International (France.) "The Problem of Elusiveness."

Dr. Wesley Watters, Whitehead Associate Professor of Critical Thought and Associate Professor of Astronomy, Wesley College (U.S.A.) "Detection and Characterization of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) using Ground-Based Observatories and Satellite Imagery." 

Dr. Douglas Buettner, Deputy Chief Scientist of the Aquisition Innovation Research Center, Stevens Insitute of Technology. "Data Integrity and Chain of Custody Architecture for Scientific UAP Studies."

Dr. Gretchen Stahlman, Associate Professor in the School of Information, Florida State University (U.S.A.) "Information and Communication Ecosystems of UAP Studies."

Dr. Travis Dumsday, Chief of Philosophy & Religious Studies, Concordia University of Edmonton (Canada.) "Understanding UAPs: Surveying Some Non-Naturalistic Ontologies."

Maya Cowan, Ph.D. student in Anthropology, State University of New York at Binghamton (U.S.A.) "Observatories & Experiencers."

Dr. Matthew Szydagis, Associate Professor of Physics, State University of New York at Albany (U.S.A.) "The Latest Scientific News from UAlbany and UAPs."

Dr. Alexey Golubev, Associate Professor, University of Houston. (U.S.A.) "A UFO Over the Planetarium: Public Communication of Science and Debates about Extraterrestrial Contact in the Cold War USSR."

Dr. Kevin Knuth, Professor State University of New York at Albany (U.S.A.) "Simulating the characteristics of extraterrestrial civilizations that encounter Earth."

All in all, it promises to provide an excellent, detailed, look at what academics from a range of disciplines are thinking about, and discussing in relation to UAP studies. 

Police Executives UAP Reference Guide

The MCCA

 According to their website, the Major Cities Chiefs Association is:

"...a professional organization of police executives representing the largest cities in the United States and Canada. The MCCA provides a unique forum for urban chiefs, sheriffs and other law enforcement executives to share ideas, experiences and strategies.

MCCA provides a collaborative forum for the advancement of public safety through innovation, research, policy development, government engagement, community outreach and leadership development."

Initiatives

In February 2024 the MCCA released its First Futurist Initiative Resource: Volume 1 Artificial Intelligence. This was a seven-page Reference Guide to all aspects of Artificial Intelligence.

In July 2024, they released its second Futurist Initiative Resource: Volume 2 Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. This was an eleven-page Reference Guide to UAP. The eleven pages were divided into eleven topics as follows:

MCCA-UAP_Reference-Guide-June-2024-.pdf (majorcitieschiefs.com)

* UAP in the News

* Law Enforcement Considerations

* U.S. Government UAP programs

* Whistleblowers

* UAP and Congress

* UAP and U.S. DoD

* Other U.S. gov. and intel. Reporting

* UAP and NASA

* UAP and FAA

* UAP Reporting Mechanisms

* Key Takeaways.

An excellent guide

All, in all, the Reference Guide is an excellent summary and introduction to the UAP enigma, providing accurate and unbiased information to the reader of such a guide. I reached out to MCCA, "May I ask what led the organization to produce such a fact sheet?" The response was:

"Upon recognizing member agencies are in need of, and are hungry for, quality deliverables that push the profession to look 5, 10, 15 years down the road, the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) is decidedly leaning into the future. Futurist initiative was established in 2023 to examine various innovative concepts and to propose ideas for consideration related to technology, human behavior, national security, training, research, capabilities, and communication. The initiative first examined all things AI, most recently featured UAP, and there is much more to come."  Laura Cooper, MCCA Executive Director.

The publication by a professional law enforcement association, of such a reference guide, is yet another sign that the stigma around discussing the topic of UAP, is slowly diminishing. The MCCA is to be congratulated for its Futurist Initiative in general, and its reference guide on UAP in particular. 

UAP sessions held at the 2024 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference

Conference

The 2024 conference of the U.S. based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)  AVIATION Forum and 2024 ASCEND was held in Las Vegas in late July/early August 2024. On Monday, 29 July three sessions were held, specifically related to UAP. 

Sessions

"Reinforcement Learning for Cognitive Detection and Characterization of Advanced Aerospace Vehicles." Rajiv Thummala and Gregory Falco. AIAA 2024-3734. Session: Advancing the Scientific Understanding of UAP to Improve Aviation Safety.

Abstract:

The detection and characterization of advanced aerospace vehicles (AAVs) that exhibit novel signatures and deviate from conventional profiles pose significant challenges for traditional air domain awareness systems, which rely on static detection and classification methods. Reinforcement learning (RL) has shown promise in developing cognitive air domain awareness systems capable of adapting to novel aircraft attempting to evade detection. By applying RL, radar systems can potentially learn optimal strategies for detecting and characterizing anomalous AAVs, continually optimizing their approach with each engagement and potentially discovering new detection and characterization methods. 

This paper examines the application of RL and generative adversarial networks (GANs) to facilitate adaptive, intelligent detection and characterization of AAVs, independent of pre-defined signatures or pre-existing trainings. We propose an RL-based framework that leverages adaptive detection and tracking, feature learning, sensor fusion, and transfer learning techniques to iteratively learn to detect and track AAVs from sensor data, even when their signatures deviate from known profiles. 

"The Reported Shape, Size, Kinematics, Electromagnetic Effects, and Presence of Sound of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Frome Select Reports, 1947-2016." Robert M. Powell, Larry Hancock, Laiba Hasan, Sarah Little, Robinson Truong and Tobi Kamoru. AIAA 2024-3735. Session: Advancing the Scientific Understanding of UAP to Improve Aviation Safety. 

Robert Powell -Team | Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (explorescu.org)

Abstract:

Publicly available witness reports, catalogued by military and civilian agencies, of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) from 1947 to 2016 were hand-sorted for selection based on four criteria: reliability of witness testimonies, object angular size, greater than 0.15 degrees, sufficient lighting, and sufficient information detail. The resultant database comprises the subset of historical reports that were determined to likely represent unidentified aerial objects.

Out of more than 100,000 reports amassed from one military database and four civilian databases, 301 reports spanning the same years were identified as meeting these criteria. From this selected set, the characteristics of shape, size, kinematics, electromagnetic effects and sound emanation are examined. Detailed descriptions in the witness accounts allowed us to present scaled illustrations for the two most common UAP shape categories: disks (domed, elongated, shortened) and triangles (isosceles, equilateral).

The largest shapes reported were diamond/rectangular and boomerang (median 300ft(91m)), and the smallest were spheres (median 20ft 96m)). Triangles (median 170ft (52m)) were consistently reported to hover, did not produce electromagnetic effects and were often noted to have an absence of sound. The combination of unusual kinematic range and absence of sound was found in 16 reports which specifically mentioned objects that hovered, traveled faster than Mach 1 and exhibited an absence of sound: disk (5), triangle (8), oval (1), sphere (1) and boomerang (1). The dataset of UAP characteristics presented here, based on 301 reliable witness reports, can be used to inform the design of the various UAP field instrumentation, detection algorithms, and propulsion hypotheses that are critical to the advancement of our understanding of UAP.

"Occupational Safety and Reporting Guidance: Reviewing UAP Safety Events." David Burstein, Shawn Pruchnicki and Iya Whiteley.  AIAA 2024-3736. Session: Advancing the Scientific Understanding of UAP to Improve Aviation Safety.

Abstract:

Background. With the release of the 2021 Preliminary Assessment on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), public interest in aerospace safety issues associated with UAP has increased. UAP are a potential safety of flight hazard, national security concerns, and source of public curiosity. UAP safety events are generally underreported, owing to challenges with detection and characterization, inadequate reporting mechanisms, and stigma. As a result, we have limited understanding of how UAP affect safe aerospace operations, as well as the ways in which aerospace personnel respond during and after UAP events.

As UAP reports increase, basic aviation safety principles can be used to review UAP events and make improvements for safer aerospace operations. In early 2024, the American Institute of Aeronautica and Astronautics (AIAA) UAP Integration & Outreach Committe (UAPIOC) drafted an opinion paper "Occupational Safety and reporting Guidance to Enhance Flight Safety, Reduce Stigma and Facilitate Scientific Understanding of UAP."

This guidance identified six areas worthy of unique consideration to advance knowledge of UAP: 1) Hazard Determination, 2) Aviation Team Responses to In-flight UAP reports, 3) Observation & Incident Reporting After Flight Operations, 4) Workplace Stigma and Safety Culture, 5) Crew Member Occupational Well-Being and General Health, 6) Centralizing National Scientific Date Collection.

UAP Safety Event Reviews To advance practical understanding of UAP safety risks, we will review a case example of an in-flight UAP observation and apply the above framework to identify human factors successes and opportunities related to this event. We will identify specific examples when flight safety or team-member well-being could be enhanced during and after UAP events.

Purpose: This work is intended to help facilitates the revie of human factors processes that promote effective responses and reporting by aviation personnel during UAP events. Our goal is to advance safety practices within the military and civilian aviation as it relates to UAP, and to advance the scientific study of UAP.

Methods: We analyzed one case example of a UAP event during aviation operations. We asked the individual involved with this UAP event to submit to us a written, narrative report of his experience based on: 1)UAP observations and crew member action s that took place during the event, 2) Experiences reporting the event, both in-flight and afterward; 3) Sense of safety culture and stigma during and after the event; and 4) sense of personal and occupational well-being after the event. We analyzed his narrative report with respect to the six key considerations from the AIAA UAPIOC's drafted opinion paper. Our aim was to draw specific conclusions with respect to 1) identifying areas where UAP reporting is hampered by stigma or concerns about individual consequences about reporting UAP; 2) reviewing opportunities to improve communication among team members during UAP events, and 3) identify apparent challenges among team members when responding to a UAP observation or incident, as well as challenges with respect to reporting the event for further analysis. 

Final Product. Our Final Products will be written case analysis as well as a 10–15-minute presentation that focuses aviation safety principles associated with UAP event. In each of these products we will briefly introduce the AIAA UAPIOCs framework as outlined in the drafted opinion Paper and provide an overview of how the narrative case report applies to our framework. Finally, we plan to discuss any conclusions we come to about potential success and opportunities to continue to improve aviation safety with respect to UAP. In our presentation, open discussion will be held during the session.

Panel

On 30 July, a one-hour duration panel discussion titled "Detection, Characterization and Evaluation of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)" was held. The panel members were Ryan Graves, Robert Powell, Michael Lembeck and Lou Mack.  

Update: 4 August 2024

Patrick Donovan advises that the AIAA UAP Integration and Outreach Committee also presented to the AIAA Aerospace Traffic Management Committee, in a well-received presentation.