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Steven E. Jones

Steven E. Jones
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Steven E. Jones
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Steven Earl Jones is an American physicist. For most of his career, Jones was known mainly for his work on muon-catalyzed fusion. In the fall of 2006, amid controversy surrounding his work on the collapse of the World Trade Center, he was relieved of his teaching duties and placed on paid leave from Brigham Young University. On October 20, 2006, he announced his retirement. His hypothesis is that the World Trade Center was destroyed by controlled demolition during the September 11 attacks, not the impact of the airplanes that hit them or the fires that followed. Jones' theory about the September 11 attacks is part of many 9/11 conspiracy theories.

Education

Jones earned his bachelor's degree in physics, magna cum laude, from Brigham Young University in 1973, and his Ph.D. in physics from Vanderbilt University in 1978. Jones conducted his Ph.D. research at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (from 1974 to 1977), and post-doctoral research at Cornell University and the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility.[1]

Research interests and background

Jones conducted research at the Idaho National Laboratory, in Arco, Idaho where, from 1979 to 1985, he was a senior engineering specialist. He was principal investigator for experimental muon-catalyzed fusion from 1982 to 1991 for the U.S. Department of Energy, Division of Advanced Energy Projects. From 1990 to 1993, Jones studied fusion in condensed matter physics and deuterium under U.S. Department of Energy and Electric Power Research Institute sponsorship. Jones also collaborated in experiments at other physics labs, including TRIUMF (Vancouver, British Columbia), KEK (Tsukuba, Japan), and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory at Oxford University.

Jones' interests also extend to archaeometry, solar energy,[2][3] and, like many professors at BYU, archaeology and the Book of Mormon.[4] For example, he has sought radiocarbon dating evidence of the existence of pre-Columbian horses in the Americas,[5] and has interpreted archaeological evidence from the ancient Mayans as supporting his faith's belief that Jesus Christ visited America.[6]

Cold fusion

In the mid-1980s, Jones and other BYU scientists worked on what he then referred to as Cold Nuclear Fusion in a Scientific American article, but is today known as muon-catalyzed fusion to avoid confusion. Muon-catalyzed fusion was a field of some interest in the 1980s, but its low energy output appears to be unavoidable (due to alpha-muon sticking losses). Jones led a research team that in 1986 achieved 150 fusions per muon (average), releasing over 2,600 MeV of fusion energy per muon, a record which still stands.[7]

Around 1985 Jones then became interested in the anomalous production of helium-3 found in the gasses escaping from volcanoes. He hypothesized that the high pressures in the Earth's interior might make fusion more likely, and began a series of experiments on what he referred to as piezofusion, or high-pressure fusion. In order to characterize the reactions, Jones designed and built a neutron counter able to accurately measure the tiny numbers of neutrons being produced in his experiments. The counter suggested a small amount of fusion was going on. Jones said the result suggested at least the possibility of fusion, though the process was unlikely to be useful as an energy source.

Pons and Fleischmann (P&F) started their work around the same time. Their work was brought to Jones' attention when they applied for research funding from the Department of Energy and they passed their proposal along to Jones for peer review. Realizing their work was very similar, Jones and P&F agreed to release their papers to Nature on the same day, March 24, 1989. However, P&F announced their results at a press event the day before. Jones faxed his paper to Nature.[8]

A New York Times article says that while peer reviewers were quite critical of Pons and Fleishchmann's research they did not apply such criticism to Jones' much more modest, theoretically supported findings. Although critics insisted that his results likely stemmed from experimental error,[9] most of the reviewing physicists indicated that he was a careful scientist. Other research and experiments confirmed his findings.[10]

WTC collapse controversy

On September 22, 2005 Jones presented his views on the collapse of the World Trade Center towers and World Trade Center 7 at a BYU seminar attended by about 60 people. Pointing to the speed and symmetry of the collapses, the characteristics of dust jets, and reports of molten metal in the debris, Jones suggested that the evidence defies the mainstream collapse theory and favors explosive demolition. He called for further scientific investigation to test the controlled demolition hypothesis and the release of all relevant data by the government.[11] Shortly after the seminar, Jones placed a paper "Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?" on the Physics department web site.

He subsequently defended the research twice more at BYU,[citation needed] also at Idaho State University, Utah Valley State College, University of Colorado at Boulder and University of Denver, the Utah Academy of Science, Sonoma State University, University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Texas at Austin. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

Jones' paper has been the center of controversy both for its content and its claims to scientific rigor.[19] Jones' early critics included members of BYU's engineering faculty;[20] shortly after he made his views public, the BYU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and the faculty of structural engineering issued statements in which they distanced themselves from Jones' work. They noted that Jones' "hypotheses and interpretations of evidence were being questioned by scholars and practitioners," and expressed doubts about whether they had been "submitted to relevant scientific venues that would ensure rigorous technical peer review."[21]

Some of Jones' colleagues have defended his work on 9/11 to varying degrees,[22] and Project Censored lists his 9/11 research among the top mainstream media censored stories of 2007.[23]

Jones maintains that the paper was peer-reviewed prior to publication, though it has never been published in an independent peer-reviewed journal. One journal that has published Jones' paper is the online "Journal of 9/11 Studies", which was co-founded by Jones for the purpose of "covering the whole of research related to 9/11/2001" and is co-edited by him.[24] The paper is also published in Global Outlook,[25] a magazine "seeking to reveal the truth About 9/11"[26] and in a volume of essays edited by David Ray Griffin and Peter Dale Scott.[27]

On September 7, 2006, Jones removed his paper from BYU's website at the request of administrators and was placed on paid leave. [28]

The university cited its concern about the "increasingly speculative and accusatory nature" of Jones' work and the concern that perhaps it had "not been published in appropriate scientific venues" as reasons for putting him under review. The review was to have been conducted at three levels: BYU administration, the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and the Physics Department.[29]

Jones' placement on paid leave drew criticism from the American Association of University Professors and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Both organizations are long time critics of BYU's record on academic freedom.[30] Jones "welcomed the review" because he hoped it would "encourage people to read his paper for themselves," however the review was abandoned when Jones elected to retire, effective January 1, 2007.[31]

Jones has been interviewed by mainstream news sources and has made a number of public appearances. While Jones has urged caution in drawing conclusions,[32] his public comments have suggested a considerable degree of certainty about both the controlled demolition of the World Trade Center and the culpability of rogue agents working within the U.S. government.[33] In one interview, he asserted that the attacks were "an 'inside job', puppeteered by the neoconservatives in the White House to justify the occupation of oil-rich Arab countries, inflate military spending, and expand Israel."[34] His name is often mentioned in reporting about 9/11 conspiracy theories.[35]

Scholars for 9/11 Truth

Jones was a founding member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth and has served as co-chair, with James H. Fetzer, since its inception. Since mid-November 2006, he, Fetzer and a series of other researchers and individuals, have been engaged in an open dispute about the direction the organization should take. Fetzer has said Jones wants to suppress some alternative theories about 9/11, including those of Judy Wood and Morgan Reynolds involving the destruction of the WTC by directed energy weapons, and the so-called "no-plane" theories.[36] Jones has said he has examined the mini-nukes hypothesis and delineated empirical reasons for rejecting it,[37] and that he invites further discussion and response. Jones and about 4/5 of the scholars left the organization to establish Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice, dedicated to 9/11 research.

Affiliations

Jones had been co-chair of Scholars for 9/11 Truth up until December 5, 2006. Following a dispute with co-chair James Fetzer over the direction the organization was taking, Jones resigned his membership and joined Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice.

Jones is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Jones has been described as "a devout Mormon and, until recently, a faithful supporter of George W. Bush."[19] However, Jones himself noted that he did not vote for Bush/Cheney, and he called for their impeachments beginning at large conferences in Chicago and Los Angeles in June 2006.[38][39]

Jones is co-editor of Journal of 9/11 Studies.[40]

Recognition and awards

  • 1968, David O. McKay Scholarship at BYU; National Merit Scholar[1]
  • 1973-1978 Tuition Scholarship and Research Fellowship at Vanderbilt University
  • 1989 Outstanding Young Scholar Award (BYU); Best of What's New for 1989 (Popular Science); Creativity Prize (Japanese Creativity Society)
  • 1990 BYU Young Scholar Award; Annual Lecturer, BYU Chapter of Sigma Xi

References

  1. ^ a b Brigham Young University: Steven E. Jones's CV
  2. ^ Steven E. Jones' biography at BYU. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.
  3. ^ The Solar Funnel Cooker.
  4. ^ For the relationship between BYU and Mormon apologetics scholarship see generally John-Charles Duffy. "Defending the Kingdom, Rethinking the Faith: How Apologetics Is Reshaping Mormon Orthodoxy." Sunstone, May 2004, 22-55.
  5. ^ Anonymous. "Out of the Dust" in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies Volume 10 Issue 1.
  6. ^ Behold My Hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America, by Steven Jones, article claiming evidence that Jesus Christ visited the Americas (also here)
  7. ^ Jones, Steven Earl (1986). Muon-catalysed fusion revisited. Nature. Nature Publishing Group. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  8. ^ Jones’s manuscript on history of cold fusion at BYU, Ludwik Kowalski, March 5, 2004
  9. ^ Browne, Malcolm W. (1989). Physicists Debunk Claim Of a New Kind of Fusion. Science. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-07-14.
  10. ^ Czerski, K. and Huke, A. and Biller, A. and Heide, P. and Hoeft, M. and Ruprecht, G. (2001). Enhancement of the electron screening effect for d+ d fusion reactions in metallic environments 449-455, Volume 54, number 4. Europhysics Letters. “...the observed enhancement of the electron screening in metal targets can, in tendency, explain the small neutron production rates observed in the cold-fusion experiment of Jones [reference 1989 Nature paper].”
  11. ^ Jones, Steven E.. Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse? (Draft 2.2) (html). Retrieved on 2007-09-03. “I presented my objections to the “official” theory at a seminar at BYU on September 22, 2005, to about sixty people. I also showed evidence and scientific arguments for the explosive demolition theory.”
  12. ^ Jones, Steven E (2006-09-22). What Caused Not Two but Three World Trade Center Skyscrapers to COMPLETELY Collapse on 9/11/2001? (pdf). Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  13. ^ Jones, Steven E (2006-02-01). 9/11 Revisited: Scientific and Ethical Questions. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  14. ^ Riley, Michael. "Backers hail 9/11 theorist's speech", Denver & The West, Denver Post, 2006-10-29. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  15. ^ Dean, Suzanne. "Physicist says heat substance felled WTC", Deseret Morning News, 2006-04-10. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  16. ^ Scholars For Truth Founder Is Keynote Speaker for Media Accountability Conference, Nov. 3 And 4 (2006-10-26). Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  17. ^ Analysis of the World Trade Center Destruction. Lifting the Fog: The Scientific Method Applied to the World Trade Center Disaster (2006-11-11). Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  18. ^ The Twin Towers in scientific detail. Project for a New American Citizen: Rebuilding America's Senses (2007-04-14). Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  19. ^ a b Gravois, John. "Professors of Paranoia?", The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2006-06-23, p. A.10. Retrieved on 2007-09-03. “Soon after Mr. Jones posted his paper online, the physics department at Brigham Young moved to distance itself from his work. The department released a statement saying that it was 'not convinced that his analyses and hypotheses have been submitted to relevant scientific venues that would ensure rigorous technical peer review.'” 
  20. ^ Firmage, D. Allan (2006-04-09). Refuting 9/11 Conspiracy Theory. Letter to the Editor. NetXNews (online edition of College Times, the Utah Valley State College student newspaper). Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  21. ^ McIlvain, Ryan. "Censor rumors quelled", BYU NewsNet, 2005-12-05. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. “Professor Jones’s department and college administrators are not convinced that his analyses and hypotheses have been submitted to relevant scientific venues that would ensure rigorous technical peer review. The structural engineering faculty in the Fulton College of Engineering and Technology do not support the hypotheses of Professor Jones.” 
  22. ^ Walch, Tad (2006-09-18). Three at BYU praise Jones. Deseret News. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  23. ^ Kramer, John; David Abbott and Courtney Wilcox (2007). Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story. Project Censored. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  24. ^ Jones, Steven E. Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  25. ^ Jones, Steven E. "Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?". Global Outlook Spring/Summer 2006 (11): pp. 47-70. 
  26. ^ Global Outlook. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  27. ^ Griffin, David Ray (ed.); Peter Dale Scott (ed.) (2006-08-23). 9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, Vol 1.. Olive Branch Press, 247 pages. ISBN 1566566592. 
  28. ^ Walch, Tad (2006-09-14). BYU's Jones Denies Bias. Deseret News. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
  29. ^ McFarland, Sheena. "BYU prof on paid leave for 9/11 theory", Salt Lake Tribune, 2006-09-08. Retrieved on 2007-09-03. 
  30. ^ Walch, Tad. "BYU action on Jones lamented", Deseret Morning News, 2006-09-14. Retrieved on 2007-09-03. 
  31. ^ Walch, Tad. "BYU professor in dispute over 9/11 will retire: Jones had been placed on leave 6 weeks ago", Deseret Morning News, 2006-10-21. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  32. ^ Jones, Steven E (2006-07-18). Answers to Objections and Questions. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  33. ^ "Fury as academics claim 9/11 was 'inside job'", London Daily Mail, 2006-09-06. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  34. ^ "Who really blew up the twin towers?", Education Guardian Weekly, The Guardian, 2006-09-05. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  35. ^ Dwyer, Jim. "U.S. Reports Seek to Counter Conspiracy Theories About 9/11", New York Times, 2006-09-02. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  36. ^ Fetzer, Jim. "An Open Letter about Steven Jones".
  37. ^ Jones, Steven. "Hard Evidence Repudiates the Hypothesis that Mini-Nukes Were Used on the WTC Towers"
  38. ^ nytimes.com
  39. ^ youtube.com
  40. ^ Journal of 9/11 Studies

See also

External links

Links covering Steven Jones' Cold Fusion research

Links covering Steven Jones' 9/11 research


9/11 conspiracy theories
Major theories Controlled demolition hypothesis for the collapse of the World Trade Center

Notable proponents
and supporters

Kevin Barrett · Robert M. Bowman · Andreas von Bülow · James H. Fetzer · David Ray Griffin · Sander Hicks · Jim Hoffman · Alex Jones · Steven E. Jones · Lyndon LaRouche · Thierry Meyssan · Rosie O'Donnell · William Rodriguez · Michael Ruppert · Peter Dale Scott · Charlie Sheen · Webster G. Tarpley · Barrie Zwicker
Groups
Films

911: In Plane Site · Loose Change · 9/11: Press for Truth
Books

9/11: The Big Lie · The CIA and September 11 · The New Pearl Harbor · The Terror Timeline · The War on Freedom

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