The CAIPAN GEIPAN UAP UFO Workshop of July 2014 photo review

Tom Tulien kindly allowed me to use some of the photos he took during the 2 day July 2014 CAIPAN GEIPAN UAP UFO workshop held at CNES headquarters in Paris France.  See my earlier post for an outline of the workshop presentations - an important development in developing a viable UAP UFO science. Photos are copyright Thomas Tulien

Tom Tulien's research into the extraordinary 1968 Minot B52 UFO encounter is a well documented example of a latent and almost lost scientific opportunity for acquiring striking data.

The July 2014 CAIPAN workshop at CNES headquarters in Paris

Dr. Richard Haines of NARCAP presenting his paper 

"Useful Research Methods for Aircrew and Air Traffic Controller UAP Sightings"

Dr. Jacques Vallee presenting his paper 

"Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP): a strategy for research"

which focused on strategic uses of diverse data bases and 

a coordinated effort to combine these data bases

Eduardo Russo addressing UAS/UFO cataloguing activities

Philippe Ailleris describing UAP/UFO field studies

Nico Conti's listing of instrumented field studies of UAP/UFOs

Erling Strand presents a survey of 30 years of research of 

the fascinating Hessdalen light phenomena

Sergey Chernouss describes the Russian auroral display network

Jeremie Vaubaillon discusses the data from the French sky monitoring network

Raymond Piccoli presents data from the lightning laboratory

Xavier Passot head of GEIPAN and the roundtable discussion 

with Ron Westrum, Jacques Arnould, Bertrand Meheust and Jacques Vallee

Scientific evidence for a UFO landing - the evidence, the debate & the fallout - Delphos and Dr Erol Faruk

Here is an e-book well worth reading:

UFOs - The Indisputable Scientific Evidence for a UFO Landing and Deposition (aka The Delphos Case) that was denied Publication by Scientific Journals by Dr Erol Faruk

Dr. Erol Faruk

From Amazon:

Physical and chemical analysis of a glowing ring soil residue allegedly left behind by a UFO hovering above the ground is presented. The analysis results strongly implicate a genuine UFO to have been present and that it was exhibiting an unusual luminescence technology. An overview of the current UFO situation is also presented, along with a discussion of why scientific journals have been reluctant to publish the analysis and its data. The Foreword to the book is by Dr. Michael Swords, who has himself previously been involved with collating all other analysis data from this famous UFO case. 

The author is a British born scientist from Turkish parentage. After receiving his B.Sc (Hons) in chemistry from Queen Mary College, London University, he stayed on to earn a Ph.D in the organic synthesis of unstable carotenoid pigments before moving to Oxford and Nottingham Universities to carry out postdoctoral research in other areas of chemistry. He then found long term employment as a pharmaceutical development chemist which led to him being named inventor and co-inventor of numerous patents awarded for commercially important processes. The author's early interest in astronomy indirectly led to his curiosity into the UFO phenomenon, and once he became adept in chemistry he was keen to use his expertise to uncover knowledge on the phenomenon if at all possible. This book is the result of that endeavour. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: A first review of this book on Amazon.com has pointed to the fact that there was a microbiological presence (Nocardia) in the ring soil, as mentioned in a book by Vallee. The reviewer jumps to the conclusion that the ring has been caused by this microbiological entity, which has previously been classified as a fungus. For the benefit of those who are not using the Amazon.com domain I am posting here my comments that followed his review: 

The reviewer makes reference to Vallee's find of Nocardia fungus in the ring soil. I myself (book's author) observed small clumps of fungal matter in the ring soil which is likely to have been the same material. However, the amounts present were TINY in comparison with the large quantity of water soluble organic substance in the soil. The overwhelming impression I gained during examination was that the fungal material had proliferated BECAUSE of the enriched organic content of the soil, and not vice versa! The reviewer fails to mention that the ring did not grow or change in shape with time that would be indirect evidence for a direct fungal cause for the ring. In his Foreword to the book, Michael Swords also refers to the renowned expert on fungal diseases, Dr. Hubert Lechevalier of Rutgers who also inspected the soil and concluded that the ring, "although containing some fungal elements as almost all soils do, was NOT the product of such an agency"! In other words, a cursory examination of the ring soil showing spurious fungal material is simply not adequate to automatically assume a fungal ring cause as the reviewer has proclaimed. He needs to be more critical in his assessment and examine the theory proposed in the book which adequately explains ALL the features of the ring, including even its elongation towards the wind direction on the night the event was reported! 

Extra info: 

Actinomycetaceae is a family of bacteria in the order Actinomycetales that contains the medically important genus Actinomyces. Actinomycetaceae comprises 3 potentially pathogenic genera :Actinomyces, Nocardia, Streptomyces. These organisms are closely related to the mycobacteria but were originally classified as FUNGI because they were thought to be transition forms between bacteria and fungi. 

Quote from Vallee's book Forbidden Science: "An analysis of the white matter in the glowing ring left after the sighting disclosed the presence of a Nocardia fungus that seemed to have been stimulated by an unknown radiation." 

BOTTOM LINE: The ring soil is NOT of fungal origin, but a chemical one!

In my "Physical Traces" chapter for the 1987 book "UFOs 1947-1987 The 40 - year search for an explanation" compiled and edited by Hilary Evans with John Spencer I discussed Dr. Faruk's work (page 185) concluding, "Some of Faruk's findings are consistent with a "fairy ring" explanation, but he has clearly revitalised the debate on this controversial case by reducing the options to two: the Delphos ring ring has 'either got to be of biological origin, something like a fungal ring, or it's got to be an authentic case.' "  In a letter to me, dated 16 April 1987, Dr. Faruk indicated: "I would like to emphasise that it was not the compound that was hydrophobic but the soil itself which was coated with the compound to render it hydrophobic.  This aspect of the soil chemistry is explained more fully in my report."

The CAIPAN GEIPAN UFO UAP workshop at CNES Paris July 2014

http://www.cnes-geipan.fr/index.php?id=181&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=172&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=211

This was an important workshop focusing on the scientific examination of UAP UFO observations held at CNES (French equivalent to NASA) headquarters in Paris.  I was pleased to get an invite, but the costs involved were prohibitive, plus I was in Toronto for filming of season 2 of Close Encounters during the same week.

Here is a rough translation from the GEIPAN site:

July 8 and 9, CNES Paris met scientists and ufologists for a workshop on methods and tools to improve the collection and analysis of information on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena (CAIPAN).This international meeting allowed for the first time to combine the experience of UFO associations in research in psychology and astronomy, as well as the expertise of the National Gendarmerie and the Air Force.

The objectives of this workshop CAIPAN

Dedicated to the study of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena ( PAN ), created by the CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) therein, GEIPAN (Study Group and Information Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena) analyzed hundreds of testimonies and of reports OBSERVATION of PAN . It appeared that the vast majority was a scientifically brittle material: Unique testimony or in small numbers, significant delay between observation and testimony, no photographs or low quality ... To advance the study of the possible causes of these phenomena GEIPAN organized this workshop to seek first how to consolidate available information about these observations PAN .

Specialists present

Pioneer PAN , CNES could meet for the first time high-level scientists (Jeremiah Vaubaillon, Observatoire de Paris, Jacques Py, Professor of Psychology, Thomas Rabeyron, lecturer in psychology ...), representatives of the gendarmerie and the Air Force, recognized experts in the field of ufology (Richard Haines, Jacques Vallée, Méheust Bertrand, Ron Westrum ...) and a hundred players in the global UFO world, thus demonstrating the major contribution of the multidisciplinary approach to analyze this complex issue.
For this work of reflection, GEIPAN invited players UFO associations with which it maintains close relations.
Participants promised to consolidate these ideas in subsequent meetings.

Proceedings of the workshop CAIPAN

Several areas for improvement were explored during the workshop to improve the quality of scientifically usable data:

• The hearing witness techniques can be based on those used by the gendarmerie and the police or that applied for control of lightning, another rare and disturbing phenomenon witnesses. Analysis of photos by specialized tools used to verify the authenticity and characterize the observed objects. 
• Sharing databases Case observation PAN , from various sources, could allow general or specialized studies on these phenomena, researchers in natural sciences, social sciences or ufologists.
• Observations of PAN can be correlated with the data provided by the automatic monitoring systems: detection cameras fireball (meteorite) of FRIPON network cameras or northern lights, military radar system for air monitoring and space.
• Recent research in applied psychology now possible to make the best of human testimony, first by helping the witness better express what he has in mind, other discerning in the story the most reliable information.

GEIPAN gradually publish on this site all the documents presented.
already see below the program of the workshop.

Syllabus

Methodologies of field surveys

Oral session

-        Useful research methods for aircrew and air traffic controller UAP sighting,  Richard F. Haines, NARCAP

-        Chronic UFO investigation, transfer, Gilles Munsch, engineer, investigator GEIPAN 

-        Expertise qualitative and quantitative characterization of official reports of aerial phenomena observation held unidentified France (1951-1979), Jean-Pierre Rospars, Expert GEIPAN 

-        Technical examination of witnesses in the case of observations of ball lightning,  Philippe Ollier, Laboratory of Lightning

-        The testimony of the Force, F. Thomas, National Gendarmerie 

-        Optimize the collection of testimonies of unidentified aerospace phenomena through a modified cognitive interview for use on the Internet,  Jacques Py, Professor of Psychology, University of Toulouse 2

-        Consideration of audio components in the analysis of evidence of PAN ,  Gaelle Fedoce

-        Authentication photos / videos of PAN , Antoine and François Cousyn Praise 

Poster session

-        Distance Education investigators, Jean-Luc Lemaire, MUFON France 

-        Internet service surveys,  Jean-Marc Wattecamps, COBEPS

Preparation of standard case description observations

Oral session

-        Keeping omni-comprehensive UFO databases: a cost-benefit analysis,  Edoardo Russo, EIC

-        Foundations of the future platform for knowledge management and collaboration strategy GEIPAN,  Michael Vaillant, expert GEIPAN

-        Operational Database for phenomena PAN , Xavier Pasco, FAC 

-        Unidentified aerial phenomena: a strategy for research,  Jacques Vallée

Poster session

-        The magazine "Lights in the Night" by Joel Mesnard to today: analysis and results of a database,Thomas Margout, University of Brest 

-        Abductions in alleged UFO : an evaluation test,  Claude Maugé

-        Container format and metadata UFO,  Jean-Marc Wattecamps

Observatio No systematic sky

Oral session

-        Operational monitoring of space and air by the Air Force,  Captain Colliard Air Force

-        FRIPON: 100 cameras in France to monitor the sky,  Jeremiah Vaubaillon, F. Colas, IMCCE

-        Aspects, events and classification of ball lightning and storm phenomena bright transients, Raymond Piccoli, Laboratory of Lightning

-        Instruments, methods and networks of optical auroral observations in arctic,  Sergey Chernouss, Polar Geophysical Institute

-        The Hessdalen Phenomena: 30 years of research. Instrumentation, results, witness stories, challenges, and Difficulties,  Erling Strand, Ostfold University

-        Instrumented monitoring of aerial anomalies,  Massimo Teodorani, seseña University

-        Implications of instrumental research unidentified Nico Conti, DTC Hessdalen Committee 

Poster session

-        Unidentified aerospace phenomena and experimental strategy: methods, equipment and lessons from Instrumented field studies,  Philippe Ailleris

-        Operation meerkat,  Stéphane Dier, Meerkat

Psychological aspects of testimonials

Oral session

-        The importance of psychological and emotional context in the analysis of testimonies from unidentified aerospace phenomena  Rabeyron Thomas, Senior Lecturer, University of Nantes

-        About the alleged psychological and sociological aspects of the testimony of UFO sightings,Pierre Lagrange, ESAA Avignon 

-        The influence of culture on UFO sightings, Jean Michel Abrassart, IACCHOS 

-        The impact of beliefs on the testimony of PAN , Romain Bouvet, Doctor of Psychology, University of Toulouse 2 

Roundtable with   J. Vallee, B. Meheust, J. Arnould, R. Westrum