Steven E. Jones - Misplaced Pages

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Steven Earl Jones is a professor of physics at Brigham Young University. His research includes nuclear fusion, solar energy, and 9/11 conspiracy theories. He is co-chair of Scholars for 9/11 Truth and co-edits the Journal of 9/11 Studies. In the 1980s Jones popularized the term cold fusion, but his experimental work was significantly different from the more controversial cold fusion experiments of Pons and Fleischmann.

Jones is currently investigating the hypothesis that the World Trade Center Twin Towers and WTC 7 were brought down by pre-positioned cutter charges, one of the various conspiracy theories surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Education

In 1973, Jones earned his bachelors degree in physics, magna cum laude, from Brigham Young University, and his Ph.D. in physics from Vanderbilt University in 1978. Jones conducted his Ph.D. 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.

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 physics 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 specializes in Metal-catalyzed fusion, Archaeometry and Solar energy .

Jones has written a paper entitled "Behold My Hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America" in which he used 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, an event chronicled in the Book of Mormon. The evidence pointed to is Mayan depictions of deities which have stigmata like markings on their hands.

Cold fusion

In the mid-1980s, Jones and other BYU scientists worked on what he then referred to as Cold Nuclear Fusion in a Scientific American article, but is today known as muon-catalyzed fusion to avoid confusion. Muon-catalyzed fusion was a field of some interest in the 1980s, but its low energy output appears to be unavoidable and the field has since fallen from interest.

Around 1985 Jones then became interested in the anomalous production of helium-3 found in the gasses escaping from volcanoes. He hypothesized that the 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. His experiments initially used a diamond anvil to create high pressures, but he later moved on to an apparatus similar to the one also used by Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann. In order to characterize the reactions, Jones designed and built a neutron counter able to accurately measure the tiny numbers of neutrons being produced in his experiments. The counter suggested a small amount of fusion was going on. Jones said the result suggested at least the possibility of fusion, though the process was unlikely to be useful as an energy source.

Pons and Fleischmann (P&F) started their work around the same time. Their work was brought to Jones' attention when they applied for research funding from the Department of Energy and they passed their proposal along to Jones for peer review. Realizing their work was very similar, Jones and P&F agreed to release their papers to Nature on the same day, March 24, 1987. However, P&F announced their results at a press event the day before. Jones faxed his paper to Nature.

A New York Times article says that while peer reviewers were quite critical of Pons and Fleishchmann's research they did not apply such criticism to Jones' much more modest, theoretically supported findings. Although critics insisted that his results likely stemmed from experimental error, most of the reviewing physicists indicated that he was a careful scientist.

WTC collapse hypothesis

Jones has written a paper regarding the September 11, 2001 attacks, entitled "Why Indeed did the WTC Buildings Collapse?". In his paper, Jones cites what he considers evidence which he believes supports the hypothesis that the World Trade Center was brought down, not by impact damage and fires, but through the use of pre-positioned cutter-charges and thermite.

Jones has compiled a presentation, "Answers to Objections and Questions," in which he seeks to answer objections and detail certain aspects of his views. With regard to his findings, Jones says they are "compelling to many, but one needs to be cautious until results are checked and published in a peer-reviewed journal." He also says "It is important scientifically to have an independent analyses performed, to verify the presence of thermite signature chemical elements. And to publish results in a peer reviewed journal. Realistically, both groups will probably need to submit simultaneously to be published in a major journal like Nature."

Jones was also a speaker at the "9/11 + The Neo-Con Agenda Symposium."

Criticism

Qualified experts have dismissed Jones' paper as being a "non-issue", and containing "nothing to debunk." Since Jones' paper has not been published in a scientific journal, there are academicians, including some from Jones' own university, who question whether the article has been properly vetted by other experts in the field.

The BYU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences has issued a statement in which they distanced themselves from Jones' research. A similar statement was issued by BYU's structural engineering faculty, the "Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology." The statements noted that Jones' hypotheses and interpretations of evidence were being questioned by scholars and practitioners, and that his analyses and hypotheses had not been "submitted to relevant scientific venues that would ensure rigorous technical peer review."

D. Allan Firmage, Professor Emeritus, Civil Engineering, BYU , responded to an article from the Provo Daily Herald which detailed a presentation that Steven Jones had recently given, and remarked that after reading reports from FEMA, the ASCE and from other professional engineering organizations, as well as Jones' paper, he found the thesis that planted explosives (rather than fire from the planes) had caused the collapse of the Towers, "very unreliable." Dr. Firmage further added: "Before one (especially students) supports such a conspiracy theory, they should investigate all details of the theory. To me, a practicing structural engineer of 57 continuous years, Professor Jones' presentations are very disturbing."

In August 2006, two former members of "Scholars for 9/11 Truth" who put forth a theory that commercial jets did not hit the WTC towers, Judy Woods and Morgan Reynolds, strongly criticized Jones' work within the 9/11 Truth movement, stating: "Steven E. Jones, BYU physicist, rocketed to the top of the 9/11 research ladder based on position and credentials. But nearly a year later, his contributions range from irrelevant to redundant to misleading to wrong. He has not turned up a single item of value. The majority of what Jones says is political and his physics is egregiously wrong, deceptive, nonexistent and shallow." Other 9/11 researchers have also criticized the 'no Boeing' theories and have had similar personal attacks or broad claims without academic critique leveled at them

Affiliations

Jones is Co-Chair of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, which according to the organization itself is "a non-partisan association of faculty, students, and scholars, in fields as diverse as history, science, military affairs, psychology, and philosophy, dedicated to exposing falsehoods and to revealing truths behind 9/11." Jones is also the editor of the Journal Of 9/11 Studies.

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

Jones has been described as "a devout Mormon and, until recently, a faithful supporter of George W. Bush."

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