Peter
Andrew Sturrock (born 1924) is a British scientist.
An emeritus professor of Applied Physics at Stanford University,
much of Sturrock's career has
been devoted to Astrophysics,
Plasma Physics,
and Solar Physics, but Sturrock is interested
in other fields, including Ufology, scientific inference
and in the history of science and philosophy of science.
Sturrock has been awarded many prizes and honors, and has
written or co-authored many scientific articles and textbooks.
Biography
Sturrock
began his education studying
Mathematics at Cambridge University in 1942.
During and after World War 2, Sturrock postponed his Cambridge
studies in order to help develop radar systems at the
Telecommunications Research Establishment, now the Royal
Radar Establishment.
After
the war, Sturrock resumed his education, and was
awarded a scholarship at St John's College in 1947,
followed by the University Rayleigh Prize for Mathematics
in 1949. Sturrock was elected to a fellowship
at St John's in 1952. He then pursued work on Electron
Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, followed by stints
at Cambridge, the National Bureau of Standards, and the
École Normale Supérieure at the University
of Paris.
In
1951, Sturrock earned a Ph.D.
in Astrophysics. In the 1950s, Sturrock researched
Nuclear Physics at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment;
Plasma Physics at St. Johns' College,
Cambridge;
microwave tubes at Stanford University;
Accelerator Physics at the European Organization for Nuclear
Research (CERN).
Also in the 1950s, Sturrock invented a number of implements,
including a novel microwave tube later dubbed the "Free
electron laser."
In
1961, Sturrock was appointed
professor of Applied Physics at Stanford University,
where he remained until 1998; he is
currently an emeritus professor of Physics and Applied
Physics at Stanford. In 1990, Sturrock was
awarded the Arctowski Medal from the National
Academy of Sciences. From
1992 to 1998, he was director
of the Center
for Space Science and Astrophysics, and
from 1981 to 2001, was President
of the Society
for Scientific Exploration. Sturrock has
also served as Chairman of the Plasma Physics Division
and the Solar Physics Division of the American
Astronomical Society.
Interest
in UFOs
Sturrock
has been a prominent contemporary scientist to express
a keen interest in the subject of unidentified flying
objects or UFOs.
Sturrock's
interest traces back to the early 1970s when, seeking
someone experienced with both computers and astrophysics,
he hired Dr.
Jacques Vallée for a research project.
Upon learning that Vallée had written several books
about UFOs, Sturrockpreviously uninterested in UFOsfelt
a professional obligation to at least peruse Vallée's
books. Though still largely sceptical, Sturrock's interest
was piqued by Vallee's books. Sturrock then turned to
the Condon
Report (1969), the result of a two-year
UFO research project that had been touted as the answer
to the UFO question. Sturrock commented that, "The
upshot of this was that, far from supporting Condon's
conclusions [that there was nothing extraordinary about
UFOs], I thought the evidence presented in the report
suggested that something was going on that needed study."
At
about the same time that the Condon
Committee was conducting its investigation,
the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
(AIAA)
in 1967 had set up a subcommittee to bring the UFO phenomenon
to the attention of serious scientists. In 1970, this
subcommittee published a position paper also highly critical
of how the Condon
Committee had conducted its investigation
and how Condon's written conclusions often didnt
match the cases detailed in the final report. Overall,
the AIAA
deemed about a third of the cases still unsolved. Unlike
Condon, they felt these
unsolved cases represented the essential core of the UFO
problem and deserving of further scientific scrutiny.
Sturrock
was curious what the general attitudes of the members
of the AIAA
might be and in 1973, surveyed the San Francisco branch
of the AIAA,
with 423 out of 1175 members responding. Opinions were
widespread as to whether UFOs were a scientifically significant
problem. Most seemed unsure or neutral on the question.
Sturrock was also curious as to whether fellow scientists
like the AIAA
members ever reported seeing UFOs, i.e., anomalous aerial
phenomena that they couldnt identify. The survey
indicated that about 5% had, which is typical for what
is usually reported for the general population as a whole.
In
1975, Sturrock did a more comprehensive survey of members
of the American
Astronomical Society. Of some 2600 questionnaires,
over 1300 were returned. Only two members offered to waive
anonymity, and Sturrock noted that the UFO subject was
obviously a very sensitive one for most colleagues. Nonetheless,
Sturrock found a strong majority favored continued scientific
studies, and over 80% offered to help if they could. Sturrock
commented that the AAS
members seemed more open to the question than the AIAA
members in his previous survey. As in the AIAA
survey, about 5% reported puzzling sightings, but skepticism
against the Extraterrestrial
Hypothesis (ETH)
ran high. Most thought that UFO reports could ultimately
be explained conventionally. Sturrock also found that
skepticism and opposition to further study was correlated
with lack of knowledge and study: only 29% of those who
had spent less than an hour reading about the subject
favored further study versus 68% who had spent over 300
hours.
Noting
that many scientists wished to see UFOs discussed in scientific
journals (and at the same time, an almost complete absence
of such articles in journals) Sturrock helped establish
the Society
for Scientific Exploration in 1982 to give
a scientific forum to subjects that are neglected by the
mainstream. Their publication, the Journal
of Scientific Exploration has been published
since 1987.
In
1998, Sturrock organized a scientific panel to review
various types of physical evidence associated with UFOs.
The panel felt that existing physical evidence that might
support the ETH was
inconclusive, but also deemed extremely puzzling UFO cases
worthy of further scientific study. Sturrock subsequently
wrote up the work of the panel in a book The
UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_A._Sturrock