Steven E. Jones

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For other uses, see Stephen Jones (disambiguation).

Steven Earl Jones is an American physicist. For the majority of his career, Jones was known primarily to other scientists for his work on muon-catalyzed fusion.

He came to greater public prominence after the 2001 September 11 attacks, claiming to have evidence that showed the World Trade Center towers were destroyed not by the two aircraft deliberately crashed into the skyscrapers, but rather by destroyed by controlled demolition.

In late 2006, officials at Brigham Young University placed Jones on paid leave. He retired on October 20, 2006 with the status of Professor Emeritus.

Contents

Education [edit]

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 PhD 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 [edit]

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 deuterium based fusion in the context of condensed matter physics 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 near Oxford University.[1]

Around 1985, Jones became interested in the anomalous concentration of helium-3 found in gases escaping from volcanoes. He hypothesized that 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. To characterize the reactions, Jones designed and constructed a neutron counter that was capable of accurately measuring minuscule numbers of neutrons produced in his experiments. The counter indicated that a small amount of fusion was occurring. Jones claimed that the results indicate that fusion is at least possible, although the process was unlikely to be useful as an energy source.

Jones' interests extend to archaeometry, solar energy,[2][3] and, like numerous 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] though initial results have indicated the equine remains tested are modern in origin,[6] and has interpreted archaeological evidence from the ancient Mayans as supporting his faith's belief that Jesus Christ visited America.[7]

Muon-catalyzed fusion [edit]

In the mid-1980s, Jones and other BYU scientists worked on what he referred to as Cold Nuclear Fusion in a Scientific American article (the process is currently known as muon-catalyzed fusion to avoid confusion with the cold fusion concept proposed by Pons and Fleischman). Muon-catalyzed fusion was a field of some interest during the 1980s as a potential energy source; however, its low energy output appears to be unavoidable (because of 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.[8]

Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann (Pons and Fleischmann or P&F) commenced their work at approximately the same time. Jones became aware of their work when they applied for research funding from the Department of Energy (DOE), after which the DOE forwarded their proposal to Jones for peer review. When Jones realized that their work was similar, he 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.[9]

A New York Times article says that although peer reviewers were harshly critical of P&F's research, they did not apply such criticism to Jones' significantly more modest, theoretically supported findings. Although critics insisted that Jones's results were probably caused by experimental error,[10] the majority of the reviewing physicists claimed that he was a careful scientist. Later research and experiments have supported Jones' metallic "cold fusion" reports.[11]

World Trade Center destruction controversy [edit]

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 approximately 60 people. Jones claimed that a variety of evidence defies the mainstream collapse theory and favors controlled demolition, using nanothermite. The evidence Jones cited included the speed and symmetry of the collapses, characteristics of dust jets, eyewitness reports of explosions in the lower levels of the buildings, partially corroded beams, molten metal in the basements that remained red hot for weeks following the event, and that no modern high rise had ever collapsed from fire. Additionally, Jones claims that he has identified grey/red flakes found in the dust as nanothermite traces. He has also claimed that the thermite reaction products (aluminium oxide and tiny iron spheres) were also found in the dust.[12] He called for further scientific investigation to test the controlled demolition theory and the release of all relevant data by the government.[13] Shortly after the seminar, Jones placed a research paper entitled "Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?" on his page in the Physics department website, noting that BYU had no responsibility for the paper.[14]

Jones subsequently defended the WTC research in lectures 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.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

On September 7, 2006, Jones removed his paper from BYU's website at the request of administrators and was placed on paid leave.[22] The university cited its concern about the "increasingly speculative and accusatory nature" of Jones' work and that perhaps Jones' research 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.[23] Jones' colleagues also defended Jones' 9/11 work to varying degrees,[24] and Project Censored lists his 9/11 research among the top mainstream media censored stories of 2007.[25]

Jones' placement on paid leave drew criticism from the American Association of University Professors and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Both organizations have long been critics of BYU's record on academic freedom.[26] Jones "welcomed the review" because he hoped it would "encourage people to read his paper for themselves," however the review was abandoned (contrary to Jones' request) when Jones elected to retire, effective January 1, 2007.[27]

Jones has been interviewed by mainstream news sources and has made a number of public appearances. Although Jones has urged caution in drawing conclusions,[28] some believe that his public comments have indicated a significant degree of certainty on the controlled demolition of the World Trade Center and the culpability of elements within the U.S. government.[29] In one interview, Jones 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."[30] His name is often mentioned in reporting about 9/11 conspiracy theories.[31]

Jones has published several papers suggesting that the World Trade Center was demolished with explosives, but his 2005 paper, "Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?" was his first paper on the topic and was considered controversial both for its content and its claims to scientific rigor.[32] Jones' early critics included members of BYU's engineering faculty;[33] 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 on whether they had been "submitted to relevant scientific venues that would ensure rigorous technical peer review."[34]

Jones maintained that the paper was peer-reviewed prior to publication within a book "9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out" by D.R. Griffin.[35] The paper was published in the online "Journal of 9/11 Studies", a journal co-founded and co-edited by Jones for the purpose of "covering the whole of research related to 9/11/2001." The paper also appeared in a volume of essays edited by David Ray Griffin and Peter Dale Scott.[36]

In April 2008, Jones, along with four other authors, published a letter in The Bentham Open Civil Engineering Journal, titled, 'Fourteen Points of Agreement with Official Government Reports on the World Trade Center Destruction'.[37] In August 2008, Jones, along with Kevin Ryan and James Gourley, published a peer-reviewed article in The Environmentalist, titled, 'Environmental anomalies at the World Trade Center: Evidence for energetic materials'.[38]

In April 2009, Jones, along with Niels H. Harrit and 7 other authors published a paper in The Open Chemical Physics Journal, titled, 'Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe'.[39] The editor of the journal, Professor Marie-Paule Pileni, an expert in explosives and nano-technology,[40][41] resigned. She received an e-mail from the Danish science journal Videnskab asking for her professional assessment of the article's content.[42][43]

Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Scholars for 9/11 Truth & Justice [edit]

Jones was a founding member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth for approximately one year as co-chair with James H. Fetzer until Jones and a majority of the scholars members left the organization. From mid-November 2006 until the end of that year, Jones, Fetzer and a series of other researchers and individuals engaged in an open dispute about the direction the organization should take. Fetzer claimed that Jones wanted to suppress exotic weaponry theories about 9/11, specifically those of Judy Wood which suggested that the destruction of the WTC may have been caused by directed energy weapons.[44] Jones and others examined the claims — such as the hypothesis that mini-nukes were used on the WTC Towers — and delineated empirical reasons for rejecting them.[45]

In December 2006, Steven Jones and about 4/5ths of the members voted to leave the Scholars for 9/11 Truth organization[46] to establish Scholars for 9/11 Truth & Justice,.[47] While Jones is not a committee member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth & Justice, his work is supported and documented by the group. By April 2010, that organization had grown to over 800 members.[48]

Affiliations [edit]

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 & Justice.

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

Jones has been described as "a devout Mormon."[32]

Jones is co-editor of Journal of 9/11 Studies.[49]

Recognition and awards [edit]

  • 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 [edit]

  1. ^ a b c Brigham Young University: Steven E. Jones's CV
  2. ^ "Steven E. Jones' biography at BYU". Retrieved 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. ^ Our Collective Responsibility: The Ethics and Practice of Archaeological Collections Stewardship, ed. S. Terry Childs, Washington, D. C.: Society for American Archaeology, 2004, pg. 30
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ Jones, Steven Earl (1986). "Muon-catalysed fusion revisited". Nature. Nature Publishing Group. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  9. ^ Jones’s manuscript on history of cold fusion at BYU, Ludwik Kowalski, March 5, 2004
  10. ^ Browne, Malcolm W. (1989). "Physicists Debunk Claim Of a New Kind of Fusion". Science (The New York Times). Retrieved 2006-07-14. 
  11. ^ Czerski, K. and Huke, A. and Biller, A. and Heide, P. and Hoeft, M. and Ruprecht, G.; Huke, A.; Biller, A.; Heide, P.; Hoeft, M.; Ruprecht, G. (2001). "Enhancement of the electron screening effect for d+ d fusion reactions in metallic environments". Europhysics Letters (pdf) (Europhysics Letters) 54 (4): 449–455, Volume 54, number 4. Bibcode:2001EL.....54..449C. doi:10.1209/epl/i2001-00265-7. "...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]."  More than one of |author1= and |last= specified (help)
  12. ^ http://www.benthamscience.com/open/tocpj/articles/V002/7TOCPJ.htm?TOCPJ/2009/00000002/00000001/7TOCPJ.SGM
  13. ^ Jones, Steven E. "Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?". Retrieved 2008-09-09. "I presented my objections to the “official” theory at a seminar at BYU on September 22, 2005, to about 60 people. I also showed evidence and scientific arguments for the explosive demolition theory." 
  14. ^ Jones, Steven E. "Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?". Archived from the original on 2005-11-24. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 
  15. ^ 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 2007-09-04. 
  16. ^ Jones, Steven E (2006-02-01). "9/11 Revisited: Scientific and Ethical Questions". Retrieved 2007-09-04. [dead link]
  17. ^ Riley, Michael (2006-10-29). "Backers hail 9/11 theorist's speech". Denver & The West (Denver Post). Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  18. ^ Dean, Suzanne (2006-04-10). "Physicist says heat substance felled WTC". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  19. ^ "Scholars For Truth Founder Is Keynote Speaker for Media Accountability Conference, Nov. 3 And 4". 2006-10-26. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  20. ^ "Analysis of the World Trade Center Destruction". Lifting the Fog: The Scientific Method Applied to the World Trade Center Disaster. 2006-11-11. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  21. ^ "The Twin Towers in scientific detail". Project for a New American Citizen: Rebuilding America's Senses. 2007-04-14. Retrieved 2007-09-04. [dead link]
  22. ^ Walch, Tad (2006-09-14). "BYU's Jones Denies Bias". Deseret News. Retrieved 2007-10-09. 
  23. ^ McFarland, Sheena (2006-09-08). "BYU prof on paid leave for 9/11 theory". Salt Lake Tribune. 
  24. ^ Walch, Tad (2006-09-18). "Three at BYU praise Jones". Deseret News. Retrieved 2007-09-03. 
  25. ^ Kramer, John; David Abbott and Courtney Wilcox (2007). "Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story". Project Censored. Archived from the original on 2007-09-02. Retrieved 2007-09-03. 
  26. ^ Walch, Tad (2006-09-14). "BYU action on Jones lamented". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2007-09-03. 
  27. ^ Walch, Tad (2006-10-21). "BYU professor in dispute over 9/11 will retire: Jones had been placed on leave 6 weeks ago". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  28. ^ Jones, Steven E (2006-07-18). "Answers to Objections and Questions" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  29. ^ Narain, Jaya (2006-09-06). "Fury as academics claim 9/11 was 'inside job'". London Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  30. ^ Asquith, Christina (2006-09-05). "Who really blew up the twin towers?". Education Guardian Weekly (London: The Guardian). Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  31. ^ Dwyer, Jim (2006-09-02). "U.S. Reports Seek to Counter Conspiracy Theories About 9/11". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-08. 
  32. ^ a b Gravois, John (2006-06-23). "Professors of Paranoia?". The Chronicle of Higher Education 52 (42). p. A.10. Retrieved 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.'" 
  33. ^ 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 2007-09-04. 
  34. ^ McIlvain, Ryan (2005-12-05). "Censor rumors quelled". BYU NewsNet. Retrieved 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." 
  35. ^ Tad Walch (2006-11-08). "BYU places '9/11 truth' professor on paid leave". Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-06-01. 
  36. ^ Griffin, David Ray (ed.); Peter Dale Scott (ed.) (2006-08-23). 9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, Vol 1. Olive Branch Press. p. 247 pages. ISBN 1-56656-659-2. 
  37. ^ Jones, Steven E. "Fourteen Points of Agreement with Official Government Reports on the World Trade Center Destruction". Archived from the original on 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-04-23. 
  38. ^ Jones, Steven E. "Environmental anomalies at the World Trade Center: evidence for energetic materials". Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
  39. ^ Harrit, Niels H. "Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe". Retrieved 2010-10-11. 
  40. ^ "Professor Marie-Paule Pileni". Laboratoire des Matériaux Mésoscopiques et Nanométriques. Université Pierre et Marie Curie. Retrieved 2009-09-14. "1990-1994: Société Nationale des Poudres et Explosifs, SNPE, France." 
  41. ^ "Marie-Paule Pileni". Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
  42. ^ Hoffmann, Thomas (April 28, 2009). "Chefredaktør skrider efter kontroversiel artikel om 9/11". Videnskab. Retrieved November 15, 2009. "Mailen får hende til med det samme at smække med døren til tidsskriftet." 
  43. ^ Oder, Norman. "Hoax Article Accepted by "Peer-Reviewed" OA Bentham Journal". Retrieved 2011-01-01. 
  44. ^ Fetzer, Jim. "An Open Letter about Steven Jones".
  45. ^ Jones, Steven E. (2006-09-28). "Hard Evidence Repudiates the Hypothesis that Mini-Nukes Were Used on the WTC Towers". Retrieved 2009-04-15. 
  46. ^ "Scholars for 9/11 Truth 7 Justice: FAQ". Retrieved 2009-04-15. 
  47. ^ Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice
  48. ^ Scholars for 9/11 Truth & Justice Members Page
  49. ^ Journal of 9/11 Studies

External links [edit]

Links covering Steven Jones' Cold Fusion research [edit]

Links covering Steven Jones' 9/11 research [edit]

Authority control
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