Harold E. Puthoff earned a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University after service as a naval officer.
From 1972 to 1985 Puthoff directed CIA-funded studies at Stanford Research Institute investigating non-local perception, producing mixed statistical results published in peer-reviewed journals and declassified government reports.12
Debate Over Experimental Rigor
Independent evaluations by the National Research Council and psychologists pointed to inadequate controls and replication failures, leading intelligence agencies to terminate formal sponsorship in 1995.34
Advanced Propulsion and Zero-Point Energy
Puthoff founded EarthTech International to examine vacuum fluctuation energy extraction, laser communications, and beamed propulsion, authoring theoretical papers cited in NASA's Breakthrough Propulsion Physics project and multiple U.S. patents.567
Advisory Role in AATIP and TTSA
Between 2008 and 2017 he briefed Defense Intelligence officials, co-wrote DIA technical reports on metamaterials, and later joined To The Stars Academy as Vice President for Science and Technology.89
Publications
Puthoff has over fifty technical papers on laser physics, stochastic electrodynamics, and parapsychology, with most cited works appearing in Physical Review and IEEE journals.
Controversies
Skeptics highlight remote viewing's low predictive accuracy and the speculative nature of zero-point propulsion concepts, noting a lack of large-scale independent replication.1011
AAWSAP Research Contributions
Between 2008 and 2010 Puthoff wrote a series of Defense Intelligence Reference Documents (DIRDs) for the Pentagon's AAWSAP contract, exploring topics such as warp drives, traversable wormholes and invisibility cloaking.12 Out of 38 total papers, he and colleague Eric Davis authored six – the largest share by any researchers.
Co-founder of To The Stars Academy
In 2017 Puthoff joined Tom DeLonge, Luis Elizondo and Christopher Mellon in launching To The Stars Academy as Vice-President for Science & Technology, bringing his black-project credentials to the enterprise.13 He personally presented AATIP documentation during TTSA's first media briefing, helping convince journalists that the secret program existed.
Public Stance on UAP Technology
Puthoff argues that UAP performance may be explainable through advanced spacetime engineering and zero-point energy extraction, but remains cautious about declaring the craft extraterrestrial.14 In conference talks he has hinted at "compelling evidence in government hands" – including metamaterials now under study – while acknowledging data remain classified.
Criticism
Skeptics describe portions of Puthoff's AAWSAP output as "junk science" for focusing on exotic physics without empirical support.15 His long history with remote viewing and Scientology is cited as evidence of bias toward the paranormal; nonetheless, supporters credit him with pushing taboo topics into peer-reviewed discussion.
References
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Puthoff, H. & Targ, R. (1976) Information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding. Nature, 252, 602–607. ↩
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National Research Council (1988) The Committee on Techniques for the Enhancement of Human Performance. ↩
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Hyman, R. & Honorton, C. (1986) A joint communiqué: The psi ganzfeld controversy. Journal of Parapsychology. ↩
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Puthoff, H. (1989) Gravity as a zero-point-fluctuation force. Physical Review A, 39, 2333. ↩
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US Patent 5801415 Method and apparatus for enhancing effects of elastic waves. ↩
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Defense Intelligence Reference Document DIARD-2006-034. ↩
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Alcock, J. (2011) Back from the future: Parapsychology and the Bem affair. ↩
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NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program Final Report (2004). ↩
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Politico Magazine, "The Pentagon's Secret UFO Program," 2017-12-16. ↩
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Steven Aftergood quoted in The War Zone, 2019-01-16. ↩