Hal Puthoff

Harold Puthoff is an electrical engineer and physicist with a five-decade career in laser physics, paranormal research, and aerospace phenomena. He earned his PhD from Stanford University in 1967 and has worked at General Electric, Sperry, the National Security Agency, and Stanford Research Institute. Since the 1970s, Puthoff has been involved in classified and unclassified investigations into anomalous phenomena, from early remote viewing programs to modern Pentagon-funded UAP research initiatives.

What was Puthoff's role in remote viewing research?

In the 1970s and 1980s, Puthoff directed a program at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) investigating paranormal abilities. He collaborated with physicist Russell Targ to study the purported psychic abilities of Uri Geller, Ingo Swann, Pat Price, Joseph McMoneagle, and others as part of what they called the Stargate Project.

What organizations has Puthoff founded or led?

Puthoff founded the Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin in 1985. The institute was later incorporated under EarthTech International, Inc., in 1991 as a research facility exploring advanced science and engineering. Puthoff serves as President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of EarthTech International and Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin.

How did Puthoff become involved in UAP research?

In the 1990s, Puthoff became a key figure in Robert Bigelow's National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), investigating Utah's Skinwalker Ranch, a location associated with UFO sightings and other anomalous activity. His work caught the attention of the Pentagon, leading to involvement with the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP), a $22 million initiative to study UAPs.

What was Puthoff's role in the AAWSAP and related programs?

In 2008, Puthoff joined a formal UAP study funded by U.S. Senators through Bigelow Aerospace. He was tasked with exploring the physics behind UAP by commissioning 38 papers from experts projecting technological advancements by 2050, covering topics like warp drives, dark energy, and spacetime metric engineering. He later served as cofounder and Vice President for Science and Technology at To The Stars Academy, helping connect UAP observables to testable physics and defense relevance.

How has Puthoff shaped public discourse on UAP?

Puthoff appeared as a scientific voice on the History Channel series Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation. From his involvement with the CIA's Stargate Project to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), Puthoff has played a defining role in shaping discourse around unidentified aerial phenomena.