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Steven Earl Jones is a professor of physics at Brigham Young University who conducts research in nuclear fusion and solar energy.

Although the term cold fusion was coined by Jones in the 1980s, , his experimental work was significantly different from the more controversial cold fusion experiments of Pons and Fleischmann.

Currently, Jones is also investigating the hypothesis that the World Trade Center Twin Towers and WTC 7 were brought down by pre-positioned cutter charges.

Education

In 1973, Jones earned his bachelors degree in physics, magna cum laude with honors, from Brigham Young University, and his PhD 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.

Cold Fusion

In the mid 1980s, Jones and other BYU scientists demonstrated an interesting new effect related to the potential for harnessing energy from cold fusion, now also referred to as muon-catalyzed fusion. The Jones process – not to be confused with the Cold fusion research of Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann – did not produce excess heat, and therefore did not provide a source of energy. The Jones process, through measurement of charged particles, demonstrated excellent validation that nuclear processes can occur in a relatively simple, room temperature experiment.

Jones did not claim that any useful energy was produced. Rather, he reported slightly more neutrons were detected from experiments than could be expected from normal sources. Jones said the result suggested at least the possibility of fusion, though unlikely to be useful as an energy source. A New York Times article entitled Physicists Debunk Claim Of a New Kind of Fusion notes that while peer-reviewers were quite critical of Pons and Fleishchmann's research, they did not apply such criticism to Jones' much more modest findings. The reviewing physicists stated that "Dr. Jones is a careful scientist."

WTC Collapse Hypothesis

Professor Jones has written a paper regarding the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, entitled Why Indeed did the WTC Buildings Collapse. It is scheduled for publication in 9/11 And The American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, a volume edited by David Ray Griffin and Peter Dale Scott, in September 2006 by Olive Branch Press. In Jones' treatise, he cites evidence he says supports the hypothesis that controlled demolition, rather than simply the impact of jet airliners and the ensuing fires, caused the Twin Towers and WTC 7 to collapse.

WTC 7 was not hit by an airplane, but did receive some damage from the collapse of the South Tower. Citing data in the NIST and FEMA reports, Jones shows that this "damage was clearly non-symmetrical". In the following passage from his paper, he suggests that non-symmetrical damage and random fires would not lead to a near-symmetrical collapse of WTC 7:

"A near-symmetrical collapse, as observed, evidently requires the simultaneous “pulling” of many of the support columns. ... The likelihood of complete and nearly-symmetrical collapse due to random fires as in the “official” theory is small, since non-symmetrical failure is so much more likely. If one or a few columns had failed, one might expect a portion of the building to crumble while leaving much of the building standing. For example, major portions of WTC 5 remained standing on 9/11 despite very significant impact damage and severe fires"

For comparison purposes, Jones directs the reader to controlled demolition videos of the Philips Building, Southwark Towers, and Schuylkill Falls Tower at the Implosion World website. He believes the reader may find similarities between the known controlled demolitions videos at Implosion World and the videos of the WTC 7 collapse.

A central topic within Jones' hypothesis is the contention that the condition and nature of the debris which remained following the buildings' collapses was not consistent with the scenarios documented by FEMA and NIST. Citing several published reports, he claims that molten metal was found at Ground Zero. In addition, he provides photographs and video-clips which he says shows molten metal in the debris and dripping from the south tower. Jones claims that diffuse flame jet fuel fires are not hot enough to melt steel or iron. Jones has ruled out "with high probability" aluminum as the source of the molten metal, using scientific analysis and experiments.(DOC file)

There were also reports on sulfidation of structural steel. Although FEMA mentioned this sulfidation in their report, it has not been included in the NIST report.

Jones cites a New York Times article entitled Engineers are baffled over the collapse of 7 WTC; Steel members have been partly evaporated. Using the professional comments from experts mentioned in this article, he tries to show that modern high rise buildings have never before completely collapsed from fire.

The physics professor also says, showing still pictures and video clips, that all three buildings fell almost symmetrically, at near freefall speed, into their footprints. He maintains that this phenomenon is associated with 'controlled demolition'. He also says, among other evidence, the "pulverization of concrete to flour-like powder", and the presence of horizontal puffs of smoke observed, are common when pre-positioned explosives are used to demolish buildings. Jones claims that some aspects of the buildings' collapses remain poorly understood and that the demolition hypothesis can quickly resolve much of the debate. A passage in his paper addresses this point:

"How do the upper floors fall so quickly, then, and still conserve momentum in the collapsing buildings? The contradiction is ignored by FEMA, NIST and 9-11 Commission reports where conservation of momentum and the fall times were not analyzed. The paradox is easily resolved by the explosive demolition hypothesis, whereby explosives quickly remove lower-floor material including steel support columns and allow near free-fall-speed collapses." (Harris, 2000).

The conservation of momentum and fall times were also analyzed by Dr. Judy Wood, a Mechanical Engineering professor at Clemson University. Jones references and refers to her paper as "instructive although preliminary".

Jones also examines the official reports by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (aka the 9/11 Commission), which all conclude fires and damage alone caused complete demolition of all three buildings. (Although, the 9/11 Commission did not mention the collapse of WTC 7 in their report.)

Quoting the official NIST report, Jones explains why, in his opinion, the NIST investigators did not find evidence for a controlled demolition. His paper says that much of the evidence for controlled demolitions comes following the collapse initiation stage. But according to the NIST report, the NIST team truncated their investigation at the collapse initiation point.

"...although does not actually include the structural behavior of the tower after the conditions for collapse initiation were reached."

As described in his November 10th, 2005 interview with KUTV news, Jones "is not saying this is a proven theory, but rather a hypothesis. He wants a fresh new independent investigation."

Jones says that new analysis he performed with colleagues at BYU on WTC steel samples taken from 9/11 memorial parks show evidence of thermite. In a video interview taken on June 17, 2006, Jones said "using advanced techniques we're finding out what's in these samples - we're finding iron, sulphur, potassium and manganese - these are characteristic of a variation of thermite which is used to cut through steel very rapidly, it's called thermate." ... "The evidence points directly to controlled demolition which means an inside job brought these World Trade Center buildings down."

Critics

Some critics have claimed that Jones' analysis, which he presents as a hypothesis supported by the available evidence, is similar to that of other researchers which they have disputed in the past, including claims regarding photographic evidence of demolition charges, the claim that no major persistent fires were visible at WTC7, and what they contend are quotes selectively edited from Bill Manning and Stephen Gregory.

A few department chairmen at Jones' university have issued critical statements, though none of these has yet addressed any of the points which Jones made in his paper and at his presentation at BYU. Chairman of the BYU department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr. Miller, is on record stating in an e-mail, "I think without exception, the structural engineering professors in our department are not in agreement with the claims made by Jones in his paper, and they don't think there is accuracy and validity to these claims".

The BYU physics department has also issued a statement: "The university is aware that Professor Steven Jones's hypotheses and interpretations of evidence regarding the collapse of World Trade Center buildings are being questioned by a number of scholars and practitioners, including many of BYU's own faculty members. 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 Fulton College of Engineering and Technology department has also added, "The structural engineering faculty in the Fulton College of Engineering and Technology do not support the hypotheses of Professor Jones."

In April 2006, BYU removed those statements from their website following a letter saying that Jones' paper was, indeed, peer reviewed. The letter, written by linguistics professor Richard McGinn to Alan Parkinson, Dean of the Fulton College of Engineering and Technology, also says that McGinn is entitled to file an ethics complaint with the American Society of Civil Engineers against Parkinson for continuing to run those statements. An excerpt from the letter follows:

"...no dean has the right to represent individual faculty, much less the entire faculty of BYU’s Engineering College, on the issue of whether they do (or do not) “support” a colleague’s research, whether published or in-progress. The offending statement is a breach of collegiality, and seems as well to infringe upon Professor Jones’ academic freedom.

Most poignantly, it is inconsistent with the code of ethics of the American Society of Civil Engineers, by which you, as dean of the Engineering College, are bound, given that your web site claims to represent the opinions of an entire faculty of BYU engineers. The ASCR Code states in part:

"CANON 5.

g. Engineers shall not maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, injure the professional reputation, prospects, practice or employment of another engineer or indiscriminately criticize another's work."

If members of the College disagree with Dr. Jones' assertions in his paper that the official FEMA and NIST reports are inadequate as they stand, then they should be specific in their reasons for supporting those reports, neither of which provides (routine) visualizations for finite element analyses..."

However, as Jones is not an engineer, he does not qualify for the protections of the ASCE.

Affiliations

Jones is Co-Chair of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, an organization currently petitioning Congress for the release of evidence, including the almost 14,000 pictures and videos held by NIST of the World Trade Center site on 9/11/01. Jones is hoping for the release of this evidence for his controlled demolition hypothesis paper.

Jones does not identify himself as either a Democrat or Republican, but does "support the Constitution"

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

Recognition and awards

• 1968, David O. McKay Scholarship at BYU; National Merit Scholar
• 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

Research interests and background

Jones conducted research at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, in Arco, Idaho, from 1979 to 1985, where he was a senior engineering specialist. He was the 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 researched fusion in condensed matter and deuterium, for the U.S. Department of Energy and for the Electric Power Research Institute.

Jones has also been a collaborator in several experiments, including experiments at TRIUMF (Vancouver, British Columbia), The National High Energy Laboratory, KEK (Tsukuba, Japan), and the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory at Oxford University.

Jones has also researched sonoluminescence, solar cooking, and archaeometry.

Jones published a paper entitled Behold My Hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America in which he uses archeological evidence to support the claims of Joseph Smith Jr. (founder of the Latter Day Saint movement) that Jesus had visited the Native Americans after his Resurrection. The evidence pointed to is Mayan depictions of deities which have stigmata like markings on their hands.

See also

• Researchers questioning the official account of 9/11
• 9/11 Truth Movement
• 9/11 conspiracy theories
• Collapse of the World Trade Center

External links

• BYU energy research, Bio on Steven E. Jones

• Remarks on cold fusion - Review (by Rainer W. Kühne) of the cold fusion work of Steven Jones. This article interprets cold fusion within the framework of the fracto-fusion model. This review is very critical and gives a good reference list.

• Brookings.com - 'Cold Fusion'
• NewEnergyTimes.com - 'Cold Fusion Frequently Asked Questions (For nonscientists)'
• Physicists Debunk Claim Of a New Kind of Fusion New York Times, Malcolm W. Browne, May 3, 1989
• Works by Steven E. Jones at Project Gutenberg
  • Project Gutenberg - 'The BYU Solar Cooker/Cooler'

Links covering Professor Jones' 9/11 research:

• Scholars for 9/11 Truth, Co-Chair
• 'Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?' (DRAFT 6.5), Steven E. Jones
  • Experiments with Molten Aluminum
• Peer Comments regarding Prof. Jones’ Paper on WTC Controlled Demolitions
• A Physics Professor Speaks Out on 9-11: Reason, Publicity, and Reaction by Victoria Ashley
• 911myths.com on 'squib' observations
• WTC7.net - 'Building 7', Don Paul, Jim Hoffman
• 'professor thinks bombs, not planes, toppled WTC', Deseret Morning News, November 10, 2005
• BYU Professor Has Theory About 9/11 Attacks KUTV (CBS affiliate), Salt Lake City, UT, November 10, 2005 - Video
• Physics Professor Says Science Points To Conclusive Evidence of WTC Controlled Demolition Prisonplanet.com - November 12, 2005
• MSNBC: Tucker Carlson's The Situation - Video Transcript - November 15, 2005
  • Video of WTC 7 collapse that MSNBC did not show during interview
• Jonesing on conspiracy theories Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - November 20, 2005
• Physics prof backs WTC demolition theory Vermont Guardian - November 22, 2005
• Seminar: 9/11 Revisited: Scientific and Ethical Questions Utah Valley State College, Orem, UT February 1, 2006 - Other Formats & PowerPoint Presentation: - Video
• Prof. Jones' Utah 9/11 Seminar - Feb.1, 2006 - Review by reprehensor
• Questions remain from 9/11 report, professor says Daily Herald, Central Utah - February 02, 2006
• Physics Professor Questions 'Official Story' of 9/11 NetXNews - February 05, 2006
• BYU Professor Steven Jones Gives Update On 9/11 Research Provo, UT April 6, 2006 - Video
  • Presentation Abstract
• 'Physicist says heat substance felled WTC', Deseret Morning News, April 10, 2006
• Interview: Dr Mike Newcomb with Professor Steven E. Jones May 24, 2006 - MP3 Interview
• BYU physics prof says WTC towers were bombed from inside ABC4 (UT) - May 25, 2006 - Video
• Steven Jones' PowerPoint Presentation from Chicago June 2-4 2006 Conference
• 500 Conspiracy Buffs Meet To Seek the Truth of 9/11 Archived New York Times - June 5, 2006
• Alex Jones Interviews Steven Jones on GCN June 7, 2006 - MP3 Interview
• Christopher Bollyn (American Free Press) Interviews Steven Jones June 12, 2006 - MP3 Interview
• Alex Jones Interviews Steven Jones June 17, 2006 - Video Interview
• Scientific Analysis Proves Towers Brought Down By Incendiaries PrisonPlanet.com June 20, 2006

Sites relevant to Professor Jones' 9/11 research:

• Official NIST Report --- NIST Report Critique
• Official FEMA Report --- FEMA Report Critique
• Official 9/11 Commission Report --- 9/11 Commission Report Critique
• Video Evidence of the Twin Towers and Building 7 Collapses
• Italian TV shows side-by-side comparison between WTC 7 collapse & known controlled demolition
• Historical Survey of Multi-Story Building Collapses Due to Fire PDF

• 1949 births
• Living people
• American physicists
• September 11, 2001 attacks
• Conspiracy theorists