Introduction

(Please note: This website is currently being developed.)

Global Climate Change (GCC) first emerged from scientific research into worldwide concern for human welfare on June 23, 1988. That’s the date that U.S. NASA scientist James Hansen gave testimony to the U.S. Senate about the GCC threat, including its huge consequences, its cause in carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, and the fact that it was already underway.

Nearly simultaneously (just nine months later to the day) an announcement came of a potential new energy source that could displace fossil fuels and eliminate the GCC threat. Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons made their announcement of the discovery of cold fusion at a press conference on March 23, 1989. Unfortunately – some would say scandalously – cold fusion was rejected by mainstream science within a year or so after the announcement. The term cold fusion was not used by Drs.Fleischmann and Pons, but was introduced later by others. Other names have also been used for the phenomenon. Perhaps the best known alternate term is Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR).

Despite the mainstream science rejection, LENR continued to be investigated and pursued by a loosely-knit group of highly qualified scientists, such as Peter Hagelstein, Michael McKubre, Melvin Miles, George Miley, and Ed Storms. Now nearly 40 years after the announcement, many of these researchers are leaving the LENR field because of retirement, failing health, or death. The LENR Research Documentation Initiative (LRDI) has been underway since about 2015 to capture, describe, and archive the records of these individuals while they are still available. The scope of the LRDI was subsequently expanded to embrace and document other kinds of events and accomplishments in the field.

============

Previous version:

Cold fusion (CF) was announced on March 23, 1989, by Dr. Martin Fleischmann and Dr. Stanley Pons. The immense potential energy benefits of CF (also referred to as Low Energy Nuclear Reactions, LENR) were immediately recognized. Humankind’s need for a source of cheap, clean, inexhaustible, and safe energy seemed to be permanently satisfied. However, LENR was rejected by mainstream science within a year or so, and it remains highly marginalized to this day. On the other hand, the phenomenon has continued to be rigorously pursued by many investigators in several countries. The mounting evidence for the reality of LENR shows that its potential benefits may yet be realized.  

Because it is a “pariah” science, LENR has attracted relatively few new investigators to the field. Many of the researchers became active in the early months and years after the 1989 announcement. Now 36 years later many of these investigators are leaving the field for retirement or health reasons. The results of their many years of LENR investigation are at risk of being lost, which would be extremely unfortunate not only for the field, but also potentially for humanity. 

An initiative is underway by Dr. Thomas Grimshaw’s LENRGY LLC to mitigate the risk of loss of research records of LENR investigators. Its objectives are to collect, organize, document, and archive these records. The LENR Research Documentation Initiative (LRDI) helps ensure that records are preserved and keeps the records available for additional analysis and interpretation in the future. The LRDI is described in an article in Infinite Energy and on a dedicated website.