SSE’s January Babies are in Good Company

●    January 30, 1911: Pioneering cryptozoologist, Ivan Sanderson, was born. Sanderson authored numerous books and articles on cryptids such as the Yeti, Sasquatch, and sea serpents, and was an early advocate for treating eyewitness accounts as valuable data. He later founded the Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (SITU).

In the Summer 2022 Journal of Scientific Exploration, Bruce Champagne’s book review, Of Books and Beasts; A Cryptozoologists Library by Matt Bille, highlights Bille’s recommended reading list of cryptozoology classics. Read more details at: https://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/2643.

●    January 8, 1981: a farmer near Trans‑en‑Provence, France, Renato Nicolaï, reported seeing a saucer‑shaped craft land on his property. The event was considered among the most thoroughly investigated UFO‑landing claims ever recorded. Groupe d'Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés (GEPAN) investigators concluded conventional explanations were insufficient. 

News of UAP sightings have returned to public attention, prompting renewed calls for serious investigation. In the Spring 2024 issue of the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Tim Lomas’ essay, A History of Scientific Approaches to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Time to Rethink their Relegation to the Paranormal and Engage Seriously?, emphasizes that, while the precise nature of UAP remains unresolved, the phenomenon itself warrants rigorous scientific scrutiny. Recognizing UAP as a valid topic of study could open new avenues for inquiry, encourage critical methodology, and ultimately redeem a field that the scientific community has long hesitated to explore. Read more details at: https://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/3163.

As I sit down to write this first message of the new year, I find myself reflecting on the unique rhythm of the Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE). Each January, we are reminded that frontier science is not a static pursuit—it is a living, breathing adventure. And 2026 promises to be one of our most dynamic years yet. I think back to conversations with members over the past year—those moments when someone shared a daring idea, a provocative question, or a spark of curiosity that refused to be contained. Those sparks are what fuel the SSE community, and this year we’re reinforcing the structures to fan the flames.

Our newly launched Maverick Talks will bring forward voices unafraid to challenge orthodoxy, thinkers who remind us that science advances not only by careful accumulation but also by bold leaps. These talks are designed to provoke, to inspire, and to remind us that exploration thrives on courage. Please participate, or even contribute, to one or more sessions if you haven’t already.

Our quarterly webinars will likewise help to knit together our global community. I imagine the faces on the screen—students, seasoned researchers, citizen scientists—all leaning in as we wrestle with anomalies and possibilities. These gatherings are not just lectures; they are conversations across continents, a reminder that frontier science is a collective endeavor.

The Journal of Scientific Exploration will continue to deliver a full slate of content that pushes boundaries. Editorials will probe the philosophical edges of science, research articles will challenge assumptions, and reviews will open new doors. I’m particularly excited about the provocative tone we’re cultivating—this isn’t a journal that shies away from difficult questions. And please help me to welcome Dr. Cindy Little as our new JSE Managing Editor, and Mel Larrosa, as JSE’s new Editor, Book and Multimedia Reviews.

And then, in June, please plan to attend our annual conference. This is a live in-person event, and there’s nothing quite like the energy of being together—hallway conversations that spark collaborations, presentations that ignite debate, and the simple joy of sharing space with fellow explorers. I can already feel the anticipation building.

2026 is not just another year on the calendar. It’s a year of ignition, of leaning into curiosity, of embracing the unexpected. My invitation to you is simple: bring your questions, your courage, and your willingness to explore. Together, we will not only witness frontier science—we will shape it.

This year the torch passes, the horizon widens, and together we carry frontier science forward.

Warmly,

James Houran, Ph.D.

Interim-President, SSE
Editor-in-Chief, JSE

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Gratitude at the Frontier: Thanks to Our Year-End Donors

SSE’s Executive Committee extends its heartfelt thanks to all who contributed to our year-end fundraising drive. Your generosity fuels the spirit of inquiry that defines SSE—supporting Maverick Talks, quarterly webinars, provocative content in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, and the upcoming June conference. Every gift strengthens our community of explorers and ensures that frontier science continues to thrive. 

Bial Foundation Announcement

15th Symposium “End-of-life experiences” - "Behind and Beyond the Brain" will be held in Porto, Portugal on April 8-11, 2026. https://www.fundacaobial.com/en-GB

SSE’s Winter Webinar— “Military and Civilian Pilot UAP Sightings” 

Join presenter Barry Roth at 11am Central Time on January 21st for this not-to-be-missed event!  Barry is the Chief Archivist and Historian at the National UFO Historical Records Center (NUFOHRC), a non-profit organization that maintains the nation’s largest civilian collection of UFO records. Its mission is to digitize paper files, newspaper clippings, audio recordings, and video materials, providing open-source access for dedicated UFO/UAP researchers.

Attendees will learn about:

●    How these objects make right angle turns without a turning radius and instantaneously accelerate
●    How these craft fly without any flight surfaces
●    How these objects might operate in their own space-time bubbles

Barry will present a series of documented encounters involving both civilian and military aviators. These cases incorporate corroborating evidence from flight crews, airborne and ground-based radar systems, CE II phenomena, and multiple independent witnesses. 

The events are characterized by flight behaviors that appear to contradict established principles of physics and exhibit unconventional aerodynamic performance. Occurring across several countries, these UAP incidents are further distinguished by instances of information suppression and include the earliest recorded case of a military pilot firing upon a UAP.

SSE 2026 Conference —Call for Papers

The SSE2026 Program Committee invites high quality submissions for two dynamic tracks: Evidence and Encounters.

●    “Evidence” presentations showcase empirical data, rigorous analysis, and theoretical insight.

●    “Encounters” presentations highlight personal experiences that challenge conventional scientific paradigms. Abstracts in this track must also address the pivotal question: What transforms Encounters into Evidence?

Together, these tracks aim to advance our understanding of anomalous phenomena, explore their cross-disciplinary significance, and consider their potential real-world impact.

Learn more and submit your abstract today.

SSE2026 Call for Abstracts

Upcoming MAVERICK Talks: Interactive Virtual Chats about Bold Ideas 

MAVERICK = Monthly Adventures Via Exploration, Revealing Inquiry, Curiosity, and Knowledge Help us shape the future of scientific exploration—one bold idea at a time!

SSE’s monthly virtual forum where members can share works-in-progress, spark fresh inquiry, and receive thoughtful feedback from fellow explorers. Whether you're refining a method, testing a hypothesis, or navigating a controversial topic, this is your space to engage, reflect, and grow.

When & Where: Second Sunday of each month (unless a quarterly webinar is scheduled) 1-hour Zoom sessions at: 5 PM ET | 4 PM CT | 3 PM MT | 2 PM PT 

Upcoming talks: 

●    February 08, 2026 (Mark Boccuzzi)
●    March 08, 2026 (Nancy Smoot)
●    April 12, 2026 (Debra Katz)
●    May 10, 2026 (Olga Strashun)
●    June 14, 2026 (Gregg Korbon)

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Garret Moddel is a professor of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering at the University of Colorado. Along with developing several new energy conversion
technologies, including from quantum vacuum fluctuations, his research group has investigated psi phenomena. Currently he is serving as SSE Vice President and earlier served as the organization’s president. He has started several high-tech companies and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University’s Technology Transfer Office in 2003 (far too early by his estimation). Garret earned a BSEE degree from Stanford and MS and PhD degrees in Applied Physics from Harvard.

Please talk about your career journey and what led you to your current work? 

I suppose I’ve always been a contrarian, wanting to find a way to invent a different physics-based thingamajig that could be better than what was out there. That tendency has led to a host of new technologies, interests in maverick science, and challenges to maverick science ideas that I find insufficiently supported. From when I was six and, to the consternation of my older brother’s teacher, switched on the Van de Graaff generator in my brother’s high school physics class, holding a fluorescent lamp near it to see it glow, I’ve been interested in the intersection of physics and electricity. When I received my PhD, I went against my professor’s advice to go to an established research laboratory where I could learn from others and instead went to a new solar cell start-up in Silicon Valley to give power to the people and reduce pollution. That experience gave me the start-up bug, but after four years I realized I needed to feel part of a research community and joined the University of Colorado, where I have remained except for periodic gallivanting to spin-out new technologies.

What do you find most rewarding about your research in frontier science?

Working out a puzzle that the world presents is endlessly engaging. I wish I could say I explore and invent for the good of humanity, but I must admit that humanity is a secondary motivation next to curiosity...How could this be made to work? I particularly enjoy combining two different disciplines, such as psi and engineering or quantum physics and energy technology. For example, a diode, which is a common electrical one-way valve, is formed as a series of semiconductor materials. I wondered if instead a tiny arrowhead-shaped thin film could form a similar one-way electronic valve, but one in which electrons bounce preferentially in one direction. That was the birth of the “geometric diode,” which is now the fastest diode in the world, and being developed in many labs. Another puzzle was whether it would be possible to make a machine to carry out psi functions. That was the birth of psibotics, which actually works – I would love to pursue it further.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how have you overcome them?

Carrying out research at a university is always a battle for funding. I learned early on that the usual process of writing dozens of proposals to government agencies in the hope of receiving a few grants was time consuming, demoralizing, and limited what my lab could work on to already established concepts. Instead, I found that it was possible to entice companies and investors to support bold ideas as long as there was evidence that they worked. That approach has allowed me to spend much less of my time raising funds, and more time carrying out exciting projects and coming up with new ones.

How has being a part of SSE benefited you both professionally and personally?

Discovering and becoming part of the SSE has radically changed what I do, partly because of the science I’ve learned about at the SSE, but more importantly because of the people I’ve met (in-person) at SSE conferences and the contacts that led to. One person led to my work on zero-point energy and another to teaching a class on maverick science and psi, along with a host of research projects with the students. Many students have told me that that course changed the way they think about the world – all because of the SSE.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in frontier science?

Don’t do it! However, if you really really want to engage in frontier science, you’ll ignore my advice and jump into it anyway. It will be full of frustrations and closed-minded skeptics and experiments that work one day and not the next and incomplete theories. And it will be endlessly exciting and mind blowing and maybe even world changing. You’ve probably heard the advice to first establish yourself in a mainstream field before venturing into the wild where vicious skeptics roam. I believe that advice is wise, not only for professional reasons, but also because it grounds your thinking in reality.

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A Farewell Funny

What did E.T.’s mother ask him when he got home?
Where on Earth have you been?