John Bockris: Difference between revisions
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A petition signed by 23 of the 28 distinguished professors at Texas A&M called on the university provost to strip Bockris of his title as distinguished professor. The petition follows a letter written by 11 full professors in the chemistry department (out of the department's 38 full professors) calling on Bockris to resign and remove the "shadow" he has cast over the department. The petition from the distinguished professors said "For a trained scientist to claim, or support anyone else's claim to have transmuted elements is difficult for us to believe and is no more acceptable than to claim to have invented a gravity shield, revived the dead or to be mining green cheese on the moon. We believe that Bockris' recent activities have made the terms 'Texas A&M' and '[[Aggie]]' objects of derisive laughter throughout the world..."<ref>[http://www.mikeepstein.com/path/free.html "Academic Freedom or Scientific Misconduct?"], editorial by Mike Epstein, [[Journal of Scientific Exploration]]</ref> |
A petition signed by 23 of the 28 distinguished professors at Texas A&M called on the university provost to strip Bockris of his title as distinguished professor. The petition follows a letter written by 11 full professors in the chemistry department (out of the department's 38 full professors) calling on Bockris to resign and remove the "shadow" he has cast over the department. The petition from the distinguished professors said "For a trained scientist to claim, or support anyone else's claim to have transmuted elements is difficult for us to believe and is no more acceptable than to claim to have invented a gravity shield, revived the dead or to be mining green cheese on the moon. We believe that Bockris' recent activities have made the terms 'Texas A&M' and '[[Aggie]]' objects of derisive laughter throughout the world..."<ref>[http://www.mikeepstein.com/path/free.html "Academic Freedom or Scientific Misconduct?"], editorial by Mike Epstein, [[Journal of Scientific Exploration]]</ref> |
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The effort failed and Bockris kept his job. He also won the 1997 [[Ig Nobel Prize]] in Physics.<ref>William J. Cromie, [http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1997/10.16/IgnominiousIgNo.html "Ignominious Ig Nobels Ignite Hilarity at Harvard"], ''Harvard University Gazette'', October 16, 1997</ref> |
The effort failed and Bockris kept his job. He also won the 1997 [[Ig Nobel Prize]] in Physics.<ref>William J. Cromie, [http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1997/10.16/IgnominiousIgNo.html "Ignominious Ig Nobels Ignite Hilarity at Harvard"], ''Harvard University Gazette'', October 16, 1997</ref> |
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Bockris subsequently retired. He published his side of the story and a defense of academic freedom in "Accountability in Research".<ref> Bockris, J., [http://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/BockrisJaccountabi.pdf Accountability and academic freedom: The battle concerning research on cold fusion at Texas A&M University]. Accountability Res., 2000. 8: p. 103.</ref> |
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Bockris also tried to organize a conference on Cold Fusion at Texas A&M in that year but the university refused to allow the use of its conference halls. |
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Bockris subsequently retired. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 19:09, 23 September 2008
John O'Mara Bockris (born January 5, 1923, in South Africa[1]) is a former professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University whose unorthodox views have provoked controversy. He has authored or edited 15 books and more than 600 papers in the field of electrochemistry. In the 1980s, he experimented with cold fusion.
Early breakthroughs
John Bockris earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry at the University of London in 1943 and his Ph.D. at London's Imperial College in 1945 at age 22.[2]
In 1970, Bockris, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said he had found the a method for using sunlight to free hydrogen from water and coined the term "hydrogen economy" to describe the application of the anticipated technology. In 1975 he published Energy The Solar-Hydrogen Alternative [3]. In 1982, at Texas A&M, he announced a "quantum leap" in his hydrogen-fuel technology through a "secret catalyst" that split water into hydrogen and oxygen even without the energy of sunlight. In 1984, he said he had found a material that facilitated complete conversion of sunlight to electricity.[1]
Cold fusion
Bockris experimented in cold fusion at the time of the 1988 Pons and Fleischmann affair. Bockris' research group was one of the few to report results that matched those of Pons and Fleischmann. They were the first to report tritium production in similar experiments.[4] Since then, many other scientists have reported similar results.[5]
Transmutation
In 1993, Bockris began experiments in the transmutation of elements. Bockris got a lot of press for these efforts, and other chemists at Texas A&M felt that their reputations were being sullied by the connection. An editorial by Mike Epstein in the Journal of Scientific Exploration describes what happened next:
A petition signed by 23 of the 28 distinguished professors at Texas A&M called on the university provost to strip Bockris of his title as distinguished professor. The petition follows a letter written by 11 full professors in the chemistry department (out of the department's 38 full professors) calling on Bockris to resign and remove the "shadow" he has cast over the department. The petition from the distinguished professors said "For a trained scientist to claim, or support anyone else's claim to have transmuted elements is difficult for us to believe and is no more acceptable than to claim to have invented a gravity shield, revived the dead or to be mining green cheese on the moon. We believe that Bockris' recent activities have made the terms 'Texas A&M' and 'Aggie' objects of derisive laughter throughout the world..."[6]
The effort failed and Bockris kept his job. He also won the 1997 Ig Nobel Prize in Physics.[7]
Bockris subsequently retired. He published his side of the story and a defense of academic freedom in "Accountability in Research".[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b Brian Wallstin, "Aggie Alchemy: John Bockris was known around Texas A&M as a chemist interested in "weird science." Joe Champion gave him all he could handle.", Houston Press, April 7, 1994
- ^ S. Krivit, N. Winocur, "The rebirth of cold fusion", Pacific Oak Press, 2004, page 178
- ^ 1975 Energy The Solar-Hydrogen Alternative - ISBN 0470084294
- ^ Packham, N.J.C., et al., Production of tritium from D2O electrolysis at a palladium cathode. J. Electroanal. Chem., 1989. 270: p. 451., cited by Storms, "Science of Low Energy Nuclear Reaction: A Comprehensive Compilation of Evidence and Explanations", page 82, 2007, Singapore: World Scientific, ISBN 9-8127062-0-8.
- ^ Storms, Edmund (2007), Science of Low Energy Nuclear Reaction: A Comprehensive Compilation of Evidence and Explanations, pages 79-83, Singapore: World Scientific, ISBN 9-8127062-0-8
- ^ "Academic Freedom or Scientific Misconduct?", editorial by Mike Epstein, Journal of Scientific Exploration
- ^ William J. Cromie, "Ignominious Ig Nobels Ignite Hilarity at Harvard", Harvard University Gazette, October 16, 1997
- ^ Bockris, J., Accountability and academic freedom: The battle concerning research on cold fusion at Texas A&M University. Accountability Res., 2000. 8: p. 103.
Sources
- LingaFranca.com, November 9 2000
- Bryan-College Station Eagle, 15 April 1997
- Bad Science: The Short Life and Weird Times of Cold Fusion, 1993
- Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol 8/1, 1994
- Robert Pool. 1993. Alchemy altercation at Texas A&M. Science 262:1367.