People

Harold E. Puthoff

American physicist and engineer who conducted CIA-sponsored remote-viewing research and later served as chief scientist and contractor for US government UAP programmes including AAWSAP and AATIP.

scientist researcher contractor government

EarthTech International; SRI International; Stanford University; To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science · PhD, Stanford University, 1967 · Physicist, engineer, government contractor, chief scientist

Harold E. Puthoff is a physicist and engineer whose career has spanned more than five decades of work on classified government programmes. He earned his doctorate from Stanford University in 1967 and subsequently undertook research at General Electric, Sperry, the National Security Agency, Stanford University, and SRI International.¹ He has published papers on quantum physics, lasers, and space propulsion and holds patents in the laser, energy, and communications fields.² Luis Elizondo has described Puthoff as a physicist, engineer, and chief scientist on highly classified government projects for over fifty years.³

Puthoff is closely associated with the Stargate Program, the US government’s remote-viewing research effort. He is credited with pioneering the programme at Stanford University in the late 1960s alongside his colleague Russell Targ, after the CIA approached both men and indicated that the Soviet Union had a comparable programme requiring an American response.⁴ The Stargate programme grew to the point where Puthoff reported directly to the director of the CIA and to the White House on a regular basis.⁵ His prominent role in the programme, which also involved extrasensory perception research, was sufficiently public that his appearance on the cover of Time magazine generated lasting controversy among mainstream scientists.⁶ He also worked for the National Security Agency and, according to one account, for the CIA more broadly.⁷

Puthoff subsequently became a central figure in US government UAP research. He served as chief scientist for the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) and continued as a contractor and senior adviser to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP).⁸ In that capacity he conceived and commissioned 38 Defence Intelligence Research Documents (DIRDs) — academic theoretical research papers from senior scientists covering subjects including invisibility cloaking, traversable wormholes, antigravity, and warp drives — framed as applicable to any conceivable weapon system.⁹ He also founded EarthTech International in Austin, Texas, where he and Eric Davis maintained approximately 560 square metres of laboratory space and constructed a gravity detection device sufficiently sensitive to register the gravitational field of an automobile in an adjacent car park.¹⁰ Puthoff visited the Pentagon and briefed AATIP team members in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), during which he filled two full whiteboards with mathematical equations.¹¹ During the Elizondo Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) Claims Investigation, Puthoff stated that as an AAWSAP/AATIP contractor and senior adviser he had continued to attend meetings, provide briefings, obtain access to videos, and meet with staff under Elizondo’s leadership until Elizondo resigned.¹²

Puthoff is a principal architect of the UAP Warp Bubble Theory, which he presented to Elizondo and other AATIP personnel in a SCIF briefing. He proposed that all six UAP observables — hypersonic velocities, instantaneous acceleration, low observability, transmedium travel, anti-gravity, and UAP biological effects — are consistent with Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity and could be the product of a single technology: the warping of space-time in a localised area to create a bubble around a craft.¹³ Within his framework, hypersonic velocity is explained by the bubble allowing enormous speeds relative to an outside observer while interior speeds remain modest;¹⁴ low observability by gravitational lensing distorting light and electro-optical waves;¹⁵ and biological effects on witnesses by radiation being blueshifted to higher frequencies — potentially soft X-rays or gamma rays — outside the bubble.¹⁶ Puthoff also stated that generating the energy levels required to warp space-time might draw on vacuum fluctuations, the quantum fluctuations of empty space commonly referred to as zero-point energy, a subject on which he was regarded as a leading expert.¹⁷ He concluded that explaining UAP observables was no longer a theoretical challenge but a technological one.¹⁸

Puthoff has been involved in the analysis of anomalous physical materials, including the Art’s Parts Samples — layered bismuth and magnesium-zinc metal pieces acquired by To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science (TTSA). A 2018 TTSA SEC disclosure revealed that TTSA had retained his firm EarthTech International to prepare plans on materials analysis and beamed energy propulsion launch systems.¹⁹ Speaking at a Las Vegas conference in 2018, Puthoff stated that the bismuth/magnesium samples function as an excellent microscopic waveguide for very high-frequency electromagnetic radiation at terahertz frequencies;²⁰ however, a 2012 letter he wrote to researcher Linda Moulton Howe, later revealed by journalist M.J. Banias, acknowledged that tests at that earlier date had not yielded an anomalous outcome.²¹ Puthoff also published a 1997 paper commenting on separate Ubatuba magnesium samples, reporting laboratory analysis indicating the material appeared to contain only the pure isotope Mg-26 rather than naturally occurring terrestrial isotopic ratios, which he suggested could be evidence of extra-terrestrial manufacture.²² He has further been linked to the Wilson Davis Memo: at an Arlington Institute address in February 2020, he stated that “Wilson was one of the joint chiefs of staff interviewed by my senior scientist colleague Eric Davis,"²³ though he subsequently indicated to researcher Keith Basterfield that he had not meant to confirm the document’s authenticity.²⁴

Following Luis Elizondo’s resignation from the Pentagon in 2017, Puthoff co-founded To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science alongside Elizondo and former Department of Defense official Christopher K. Mellon.²⁵ He served as a director of TTSA until late 2020, when, according to journalist Ross Coulthart, the organisation imploded with the departure of Mellon, Elizondo, Steve Justice, and subsequently Puthoff himself.²⁶ Puthoff has also published an academic paper titled “Ultraterrestrial Models” in the Journal of Cosmology, which enumerates possibilities for the nature of UAP-associated beings and was made available on ResearchGate.²⁷ Papers he authored for AATIP were later published in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, following permission granted to him to publish all but one of those works.²⁸

References (28)

Puthoff's professional background spans General Electric, Sperry, the NSA, Stanford University, and SRI International; he earned a PhD from Stanford in 1967.
“His professional background spans decades of research at General Electric, Sperry, the NSA, Stanford University, and SRI International.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 2, paragraph 5
Puthoff published numerous papers on quantum physics, lasers, and space propulsion and held patents in laser, energy, and communications fields.
“He published numerous papers on quantum physics, lasers, and space propulsion, and had patents issued in the laser, energy, and communications fields.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 2, paragraph 5
Elizondo described Puthoff as a physicist, engineer, and chief scientist on highly classified government projects for over fifty years.
“He is a physicist, an engineer, and a man of deep mystery when it comes to some of America's most sensitive and controversial projects. For over fifty years, he worked as the chief scientist on highly classified projects for the government.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 2, paragraph 4
Puthoff and Russell Targ pioneered the Stargate remote-viewing programme at Stanford in the late 1960s after the CIA approached them, citing a Soviet programme.
“told that Russia had a remote-viewing program. The US needed to catch up and beat their efforts.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 3, paragraph 31
The Stargate Programme became so successful that Puthoff reported directly to the CIA director and the White House on a regular basis.
“Stargate became so successful, Hal reported directly to the director of the CIA and the White House on a regular basis.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 3, paragraph 31
Puthoff's appearance on the cover of Time magazine for his role in the Stargate programme had pitched hardened scientists against him decades before Elizondo knew him.
“Decades ago, his appearance on the cover of Time magazine for his role in the Stargate program had already pitched hardened scientists against him.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 14, paragraph 9
Harold Puthoff worked for the NSA and CIA.
“Hal Puthoff worked for the NSA and CIA”
Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 paragraph 3
Puthoff served as chief scientist for AAWSAP and continued as contractor and senior adviser to AATIP.
“He was the program's chief scientist.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 2, paragraph 4
Puthoff conceived and commissioned 38 DIRDs for AAWSAP/AATIP from top scientists covering subjects including wormholes, antigravity, and warp drives, framed as applicable to any weapon system.
“Hal conceived and commissioned fascinating studies for AAWSAP/AATIP, including invisibility cloaking, traversable wormholes and stargates, antigravity, brain/machine interfaces, and warp drives. These studies would later be known as the thirty-eight Defense Intelligence Research Documents (DIRDs).”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 4, DIRDs section
Puthoff and Davis maintained approximately 560 sq metres of lab space in Austin and built a gravity detector sensitive enough to register a car in an adjacent parking lot.
“he showed me a gravity device he and Eric Davis had built that was so sensitive it would detect the gravity field of an automobile sitting in an adjacent parking lot.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 14, paragraph 2
Puthoff visited the Pentagon and briefed AATIP team members in a SCIF, filling two full whiteboards with equations.
“The equation already took up two full whiteboards and he wasn't done.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 16, paragraph 2
In the Elizondo AATIP Role Dispute, Puthoff asserted he had continued attending meetings, providing briefings, and meeting with staff under Elizondo's leadership until Elizondo resigned.
“I have no problem asserting that as an AAWSAP/AATIP Contractor & Senior Advisor I continued to attend meetings, provide briefings, gain access to videos, provide Proposed Program Plans, meet with staff, etc., all under the aegis of Elizondo's leadership and responsibility for maintaining continuity of the Program effort and goals until he resigned.”
Pentagon Reinforces Elizondo Had No AATIP Responsibilities; Reid 2009 Memo Changes Nothing paragraph 13
Puthoff proposed that all six UAP observables are consistent with Einstein's general relativity and could result from a single technology: warping space-time in a localised bubble around a craft.
“Hal explained that it turns out 'if we had the right technology, we could warp space and time in a localized area, creating a localized 'bubble' around a craft.'”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 16, paragraph 6
According to the warp bubble theory, UAP hypersonic velocity is explained by the bubble allowing incredible speeds relative to an outside observer while inside speeds may not be much faster than normal.
“Hypersonic Velocity: The bubble allows the craft to travel at incredible speeds to the outside observer, but inside the bubble, speeds may not be much faster than a leisurely stroll.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 16, section on Hypersonic Velocity
According to the warp bubble theory, low observability is explained by the bubble distorting light and electro-optical waves via gravitational lensing.
“Low Observability: The bubble distorts light and other electro-optical waves trying to penetrate its perimeter, enhancing distortion and creating a gravitational lensing effect. It acts as a barrier between two space-time environments that eliminates or conceals most of the known signatures of technology.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 16, section on Low Observability
According to the warp bubble theory, UAP biological effects are explained by radiation being blueshifted outside the bubble, with normal light waves potentially reaching soft X-ray frequencies.
“Why are witnesses harmed when they approach or touch these craft? It's exactly the same thing as the magnifying glass and the ant. When you bend or shift one band of the spectrum into another, you increase the potential for damaging radiation. In this situation, one may expect normal light waves inside the bubble to be blueshifted to the soft X-ray band, outside the bubble.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 16, paragraph on biological effects
Puthoff explained that generating the energy required to warp space-time might begin with vacuum fluctuations — zero-point energy — and was regarded as an expert on zero-point energy.
“Hal explained that if one were to try to achieve the levels of energy required to warp space-time, one might need to start with the most basic form of energy that we know of—that of the underlying roiling quantum fluctuations of empty space, so-called vacuum fluctuations.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 16, paragraph on energy source
Puthoff stated that explaining UAP observables is no longer a theoretical challenge but a technological challenge.
“Hal said, 'It is no longer a theoretical challenge; it is now a technological challenge.'”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 16, paragraph 13
A 2018 TTSA SEC disclosure revealed that TTSA had retained EarthTech International to prepare plans on materials analysis and beamed energy propulsion launch systems.
“An earlier 2018 disclosure TTSA made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that TTSA has already retained Hal Puthoff's EarthTech International Inc. to prepare plans on materials analysis and beamed energy propulsion launch systems”
Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 Chapter 18, paragraph 19
Puthoff stated at a 2018 Las Vegas conference that the Art's Parts bismuth/magnesium samples function as excellent microscopic waveguides for very high-frequency electromagnetic radiation at terahertz frequencies.
“Puthoff later told a Las Vegas conference in 2018 that the bismuth/magnesium samples 'turn out to be an excellent microscopic waveguide for very high frequency electromagnetic radiation terahertz frequencies'.”
Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 Chapter 19, paragraph 4
A 2012 letter from Puthoff to Linda Moulton Howe admitted that tests on the Art's Parts samples at that time did not yield an interesting or anomalous outcome.
“A letter from Dr Hal Puthoff (formerly with TTSA) to Linda Moulton Howe in 2012, revealed by journalist M.J. Banias on Motherboard, admitted that tests he did back then on the Art's Parts samples 'did not yield an interesting/anomalous outcome in the tests involving the application of various fields'.”
Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 Chapter 19, paragraph 4
In a 1997 paper, Puthoff reported that the Ubatuba magnesium sample appeared to contain only the pure isotope Mg-26 rather than naturally occurring terrestrial isotopes, which he suggested could indicate extra-terrestrial manufacture.
“'Since the only isotope separation on a significant scale in terrestrial manufacture is that of uranium, such a result must be considered at least anomalous, and possibly as evidence for extra-terrestrial manufacture,' Puthoff wrote in 1997.”
Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 paragraph 5
At an Arlington Institute address in February 2020, Puthoff stated that 'Wilson was one of the joint chiefs of staff interviewed by my senior scientist colleague Eric Davis.'
“'And Wilson was one of the joint chiefs of staff interviewed by my senior scientist colleague Eric Davis. Since it discusses potentially ongoing programs, I have no comment.'”
Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 paragraph 2
Puthoff subsequently told Keith Basterfield that he did not mean to confirm that the Wilson interview and notes were authentic.
“Dr Puthoff did subsequently tell Keith Basterfield that he did not mean to confirm that the Wilson interview and notes were authentic”
Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 paragraph 2
After leaving the Pentagon AATIP programme, Elizondo joined Puthoff and Christopher K. Mellon in a commercial venture called To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science.
“Mr. Elizondo has now joined Mr. Puthoff and another former Defense Department official, Christopher K. Mellon, who was a deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence, in a new commercial venture called To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science.”
Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program (2017) paragraph 41
In late 2020, TTSA imploded with the departure of Mellon, Elizondo, Steve Justice, and subsequently Puthoff as director.
“in late 2020, TTSA imploded. Speculation had mounted for months that former Defence Department mandarin Christopher Mellon and key figures Luis Elizondo and Steve Justice were leaving TTSA... Tom DeLonge several more months to formally admit to the Securities Exchange Commission not only their departure, but also, a week later, Dr Hal Puthoff's resignation as a director.”
Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 Chapter 16, paragraph 21
Puthoff authored a paper on ultraterrestrial models available on ResearchGate.
“To read Hal's paper on ultraterrestrial models, go to: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Harold-Puthoff/publication/363346030_ULTRATERRESTRIAL_MODELS”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Appendix, Documents section
Puthoff was granted permission to publish all but one of the papers he had written for AATIP in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society.
“Hal asked for and was granted permission to publish all but one of the papers he had written for us. He contributed his work to a serious scientific, peer-reviewed publication, the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. The article discussed how UAP might operate, though the acronyms UAP and UFO do not appear anywhere in it.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 12, paragraph 51

Harold E. Puthoff

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