The Problem They Pose: UFO Sightings in America
Rob Swiatek
Unexplained UFO sightings have persisted since World War II, constituting a problem for science. My talk will be a two-pronged overview of (1) several ongoing efforts to study UFOs scientifically by collecting high-quality instrumented data or by teasing quantitative data from the sighting reports themselves and (2) the extent of the UFO phenomenon in America today as reflected by incoming sighting reports to the Mutual UFO Network and the National UFO Reporting Center. In the first instance, I’ll brie y discuss two nascent projects to track UFOs to acquire photographic and technical information; in the second, I’ll review some interesting recent UFO sightings.
Rob Swiatek double-majored in physics and earth science as an undergraduate. He has been employed with the US Patent and Trademark Office for over 30 years — the last decade-and-a-half in the area of aeronautics and astronautics. His involvement with the UFO subject stems to 1968, when published accounts of sightings and news reports about the University of Colorado’s UFO study ensnared him. Rob serves on the board of the Mutual UFO Network and the executive committee of the Fund for UFO Research.