Venue
Nordita, Stockholm, Sweden
The event will take place at Hannes Alfvéns väg 12, Albano Building 3, Conference center area on floor 4, room 4204.
Event start: 13:00
Event end: 17:00
Scope
Research on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), objects or events observed in the atmosphere, underwater, or in space that cannot be readily identified, is rapidly emerging as a new interdisciplinary field of study.
For decades, the subject was surrounded by stigma and largely excluded from civilian science. Yet behind governmental doors, UAPs were studied extensively in both the United States and the Soviet Union, often as a matter of national security. In 1953, the CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel recommended the systematic “debunking” (discrediting) of UFO reports to reduce public interest in the subject that was overwhelming intelligence channels. The resulting culture of ridicule discouraged civilian scientists from engaging with a phenomenon that governments continued to investigate.
This situation is now changing. Reports of unknown objects with surprising flight capabilities and unidentified "drones" around sensitive military installations, together with testimony from experienced pilots and military personnel, have forced renewed institutional attention. Beyond the Trump administration's PURSUE initiative, through which dozens of UAP videos and formerly highly classified documents have been released publicly in recent months, programs and initiatives in the US such as AAWSAP and AATIP, reports from the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon's UAP analysis office, NASA’s UAP study, hearings in the US Congress and discussions within the European Parliament have brought the subject into public and political view. Whistleblowers have testified under oath that governments and private defense contractors possess considerably more UAP evidence and physical materials than has been made public.
UAP research is now emerging from several directions at once: astronomy, physics, sensor analysis, military observations, material science, oceanography, archival research, national security and governmental transparency.
This afternoon event will approach the UAP question from a “nuts-and-bolts” perspective, focusing on physical observations, empirical evidence and documented governmental interest.
Professor Stephen Bruehl of Vanderbilt University will present recent research on unidentified transient objects detected in astronomical images from the years before Sputnik, including new statistical and machine-learning results that highlight their intriguing characteristics. Sol Foundation fellow Marik von Rennenkampff, who previously served in the US Department of State and Department of Defense, will discuss scientific analyses of prominent - and perplexing - military UAP cases and the rapidly changing governmental response.
We will also meet some US military whistleblowers who have testified before Congress and helped bring direct empirical information concerning UAP to the highest levels of the US government. The meeting will furthermore be attended by several leading international experts visiting Stockholm for the public event organised by the Beyond Foundation on 1 October. All seats for the public event sold out within 24 hours after release.
The presentations will be followed by coffee, cake and an opportunity for informal conversations with the speakers, whistleblowers and other participants.
Due to the limited number of seats, advance registration is required.
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