Society Newsletter - Issue 1
- Society for UAP Studies
- Sep 14
- 11 min read
Updated: Sep 15
Advancing the Study of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Through Interdisciplinary Dialogue
Welcome to the inaugural issue of the SUAPS Newsletter! Each issue highlights our ongoing collaborative activities. It showcases our research, events, working groups, projects, grant administration, policy initiatives, publications and our ongoing international collaborations. The Society Newsletter series offers a clear view of how SUAPS advances rigorous, scholars-focused research, education and outreach for UAP studies.
Read the opening letter from Founding Executive Director Dr. Michael Cifone, reflecting on SUAPS’s mission, recent achievements, and the vision for advancing serious, collaborative UAP scholarship.
Feature Article
Join Us for the SUAPS Annual Conference 2025:
Interdisciplinarity in Contemporary UAP Studies
We’re excited to invite members and friends to the Society for UAP Studies Annual Conference, taking place virtually on December 4, 5, and 6, 2025. This year’s theme, “Interdisciplinarity in Contemporary UAP Studies,” sets the stage for a dynamic program of plenaries, keynotes, and workshops that bring diverse perspectives together.
SAVE THE DATE: Dec. 4-6, 2025
Registration Opens mid October
We’re especially delighted to announce our confirmed keynote speakers: Professor Steve Fuller and Professor Ron Westrum, who will offer cutting-edge insights into the future of UAP studies.
Alongside plenary presentations, the conference will feature four discipline-specific workshops – in the social sciences, humanities, physical sciences, and consciousness studies. Workshop papers (4–5 pages) are due by 24 November, while plenary details (title, abstract, short bio) are due by 8 November.
Scholars & Professionals: RSVP today using our editable online form, and join us for three inspiring days of ideas, dialogue, and community – plus the chance to contribute to Limina, the Society’s peer-reviewed journal.
Research & Donor-Directed Research Grants (DDRGs)
The Society for UAP Studies is expanding its commitment to the emerging field of UAP Studies by taking on a new and proactive role as both a grant ideas incubation and development resource, as well as a grant-issuing institution. Researchers will be offered grant ideas incubation workshops, as well as opportunities to develop and refine existing drafts for grant proposals - before official submission. The Society doesn't just want to fund - we want to help incubate and facilitate great ideas for innovative, creative projects that truly merit support. Our mission is to accelerate rigorous, interdisciplinary research and to empower the next generation of researchers in this critical domain. We believe that by fostering a community of practice and providing both administrative and developmental support, we can help transform compelling ideas into impactful, grant-ready projects that can potentially be funded by the Society and its committed donors. Below are some of the grants we are currently administering, and an introduction to our signature research design and administration framework, we call AURA/UPWARD.
Baltic Sea Anomaly DDRG (BSA)
The Society for UAP Studies (SUAPS) is supporting a new international expedition to investigate the Baltic Sea Anomaly—a large, unexplained underwater formation first detected in 2011. The Society’s role centers on scientific advising and dual oversight: financial compliance and research integrity. Funded by a restricted donor-directed research grant, Phase 1 employs non-invasive tools including multibeam sonar, sub-bottom profilers, 3D photogrammetry, and environmental sensors. The project emphasizes falsifiability, bias reduction, and transparent data management, with a public report to follow initial analysis. The Society ensures that the inquiry remains open to conventional and unconventional hypotheses alike, helping to move public conversation from speculation to credible, testable science.
AURA / UPWARD
The Society for UAP Studies has launched AURA/UPWARD, a two-part framework designed to bring structure, accountability, and synthesis to UAP research. AURA (Accelerated UAP Research & Analysis) ensures that every project moves through a clear, lifecycle-based pathway, from early concepts to validated outcomes.
Projects are assigned Research Readiness Levels (RRLs) and guided by oversight standards adapted from established scientific models—balancing creativity with methodological rigor. UPWARD (Unified Program for Weaving Anomaly Research & Discovery) then connects findings across disciplines, weaving them into a shared knowledge map that grows over time.
Together, AURA/UPWARD provides the field with durable infrastructure, ensuring transparency, reproducibility, and credibility for both funders and the public.
Policy & Ethics
Experiencer Engagement Policy: A New Foundation for SUAPS
The Society of UAP Studies (SUAPS) is pioneering a new Experiencer Engagement Policy aimed at understanding and supporting the mental and emotional well-being of individuals who have encountered Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). This initiative is in its foundational stages, with the goal of releasing a formal policy framework in Spring 2026.
Grounded in trauma-informed, recovery-focused, and stigma-reducing principles, the policy prioritizes compassionate engagement and seeks to minimize existential distress and stigma through evidence-informed policy. The policy also draws inspiration from foundational work like the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health's 2003 report, recognizing its enduring legacy in advocating for recovery-oriented, person-centered care. While SUAPS will not provide clinical care, assessment, or formal referrals, this policy will establish clear procedures to help all UAP researchers identify and partner with leading professional organizations (such as the John E. Mack Institute) capable of embodying and supporting the pillars of the policy.
"By establishing clear protocols, the framework ensures that UAP experiencers are treated with respect, dignity, and sensitivity," states Michael Ross, Senior Advisor & Project Director for Experiencer Engagement & Cognitive Systems Strategy. "This initiative will be backed by an interdisciplinary workgroup, drawing expertise from fields like psychology, psychiatry, and public health, to ensure ethical, evidence-based practices."
Ultimately, this policy seeks to redefine how UAP research is approached, emphasizing the human dimension of these profound experiences while advancing rigorous scientific inquiry. For more information send an email to michael.ross@societyforuapstudies.org
Events & Programs
Colloquia
Dr. James Madden talks about his book Unidentified Flying Hyperobject: UFOs, Philosophy, and the End of the World
In late August 2025, The Society welcomed newly appointed Society Advisory Council member Dr. James Madden (Benedictine University) for a colloquium on his groundbreaking 2023 book Unidentified Flying Hyperobject: UFOs, Philosophy, and the End of the World. Madden’s work represents one of the first (and few) systematic philosophical treatments of UAP, framing them through the lenses of Plato, Heidegger, and other major thinkers. His argument: UAP should be understood not only as empirical anomalies, but also as “hyperobjects”—phenomena so vast and conceptually disruptive they challenge the limits of human cognition. Madden’s colloquium explored how philosophy can clarify, deepen, and discipline our thinking about UAP, situating the phenomenon at the crossroads of metaphysics, epistemology, and existential meaning. Dr. Madden's book received extensive reviews at our journal Limina, and on our blog and elsewhere.
Prof. Determann joins the Society to discuss UFOs and UAP in the Muslim World
On October 3rd, the Society welcomes Professor Jörg Matthias Determann (Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar) for a colloquium on UFOs and UAP in the Muslim World. Prof. Determann is Associate Editor of the Review of Middle East Studies, Book Review Editor of the Journal of Arabian Studies, and the author of Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life.
His scholarship situates UAPs within broader currents of Islamic thought, cultural expression, and futurism.This lecture will explore how alien spacecraft and anomalous phenomena have long animated the imagination across the Muslim world, from North Africa to Southeast Asia. Drawing on literature, film, and other media, Prof. Determann will highlight terminology, sightings, political and religious responses, and artistic representations of flying saucers, revealing the creativity and diversity of Muslim engagements with the idea of extraterrestrial life.
Distinguished Lecture Series
Dr. Kevin Knuth Featured at the SUAPS Annual J. Allen Hynek Lecture Series
Each year leading thinkers in UAP studies deliver lectures in honor of the pioneering investigator J. Allen Hynek.
The Society for UAP Studies’ 2025 J. Allen Hynek Distinguished Lecture featured Dr. Kevin Knuth—physicist, former NASA scientist, and Society Board Advisor, and winner of the SCU's Distinguished Scholar Award. Dr. Knuth spoke about the recent landmark paper he co-authored with members of the UAP studies scientific and professional communities; his lectured was entitled "The NEW Scientific Study of Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea Phenomena (UAP)." Dr. Cifone opened this year's lecture with an address; it was followed by an eloquent introduction of Dr. Knuth, given by Dr. Christian Peters (Bremen University, Germany), a member of the Society's newly-seated Advisory Council.
Delivered August 23rd, the lecture underscored a defining feature of today’s UAP research: multi-instrument, cross-domain data collection combined with an open-science ethos that prioritizes transparency and reproducibility. Dr. Knuth traced how modern efforts integrate historical records, physical evidence, sensor arrays, and behavioral analysis to advance beyond speculation toward structured science. In keeping with the Hynek Lecture tradition, his talk highlighted both the intellectual courage and methodological rigor required to address one of the most persistent mysteries in aerospace and undersea research.
“UAPs are all quite different from each other and to properly identify them is going to take some work. Multiple hypotheses are likely to be found correct. And one thing we really need to expect is some confusion resulting from similar but different phenomena. There should be a conflation of hypotheses, and this is bound to happen at some point. We're all studying the same phenomena. We're not basing things on belief. We're trying to look at data, collecting evidence. And in this way, science really works to unify humanity in ways that no other institution can.”
— Dr. Kevin Knuth, Professor of Physics SUNY: University at Albany
Seminar Series
October Seminar – Dr. Jean-Pierre Rospars
This fall, the Society is honored to present a four-part seminar series with Dr. Jean-Pierre Rospars, former collaborator with France’s state-sponsored UAP investigation unit, GEIPAN. Entitled "Alongside GEIPAN: History, Fieldwork, Statistics & Epistemology" the series explores fifty years of France’s uniquely institutional approach to UAPs—offering rare insight into how state science engages with unresolved anomalies. From case studies and statistical analysis to epistemological reflection, Rospars’ series highlights both the rigor and the challenges of official inquiry. More than history, it is a call for methodological patience and epistemic humility. Framed within the broader goal of fostering European and international cooperation, the series underscores the importance of cross-border dialogue in building a credible, cumulative science of UAPs
Working Groups
Forensic Methodologies
The Society has launched a new Forensic Methodologies Working Group to advance best practices in gathering, fusing, and analyzing UAP encounter data. Because UAPs often leave only subtle traces—or rely solely on witness testimony—this group explores how emerging instruments, citizen science, and official investigations can be integrated into credible forensic frameworks. Their work will connect directly to December’s Interdisciplinarity in UAP Studies Conference, where forensic inquiry will be a key track, and to an upcoming special issue of Limina. Together, these efforts ensure The Society’s editorial standards reflect the interdisciplinary rigor needed to study elusive anomalies.
The working groups are coordinated by Dr. Josh Pierson (Senior Security Advisor to the Society) and Eric Halford (Editorial Board, Limina).
Standards of Evidence for the Study of UAP
In pre-planning for 2026 into 2027, the UAP Standards of Evidence Working Group (SOE WG) will bring together an international committee of scientists, philosophers, humanities scholars and science communicators to establish the first community-driven framework for studying Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) with rigor and transparency. Inspired by NASA’s Biosignature Standards of Evidence initiative, the group will define clear evidentiary protocols that move beyond anecdote toward reproducible, instrument-based science and evidence-based scholarship. Our aim is, with an international team, to create standards that can be applied across disciplines—from observational astronomy and atmospheric science to materials analysis and human factors—ensuring that data collection, analysis, and interpretation meet the highest scientific thresholds, whether for quantitative or qualitative data. By doing so, we hope to lay the foundation for a credible, collaborative research enterprise that addresses UAP as an enduring scientific challenge rather than a cultural mystery.
Publishing at the Society
Project Overview: Launching SUAPS Press
We’re excited to announce the launch of The Society for UAP Studies Press (“SUAPS Press”), an ambitious new publishing endeavor housed within our emerging Publications Department. SUAPS Press will debut with an inaugural translation and republication project—making key UAP Studies texts available in English for the first time, enhanced with fresh introductions, commentaries, and critical framing by scholars from around the world and a variety of academic fields.
Driven by our commitment to recover and elevate foundational works, and foster rigorous scholarship in UAP Studies, SUAPS Press will move beyond translations to invite both solicited and unsolicited manuscripts being written in our field. The Press aims to complement Limina, reinforcing academic integrity without overlapping editorial governance. Its establishment reflects the Society's aspiration to curate, preserve, and amplify the intellectual heritage of this emerging discipline—and chart a path for its future contributions.
Limina - The Journal of UAP Studies
Limina has quickly established itself as the leading English-language, peer-reviewed scholarly journal wholly dedicated to advancing serious, interdisciplinary inquiry into unidentified aerospace phenomena. The journal hit the ground running with its inaugural publications. Volumes 1 and 2 already offer a rich variety of peer-reviewed research, essays, and commentary that span scientific, historical, cultural, and technical perspectives.
The print edition of Volume 1 is now available, and Volume 2 is being prepared with fresh design by Advisory Board Member and journalist Andreas Müller of Germany. With a strong slate of upcoming articles and commentary, Limina is becoming a central forum for rigorous, interdisciplinary, and open-science engagement with UAP.
Collaborations & Workshops
AARO / AUI Data-Interoperability Workshop Attended by SUAPS
On August 5–6, 2025, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) hosted a symposium in Vienna, VA, bringing together academics, scientists, and NGO researchers to explore new pathways for UAP research. Discussions centered on building a coherent repository of data, harmonizing quantitative sensor analysis with qualitative testimony, and strengthening trust between government, academia, and civil organizations. Keynotes (including the leading keynote by Robert Powell of SCU) and panels highlighted archival research, advanced instrumentation, AI-driven methods, and the role of human witnesses as vital “sensors.” SUAPS Director Dr. Michael Cifone contributed, delivering a flash talk entitled It’s All About the Evidence, where he argued that UAP research must move beyond a purely forensic model toward a new science of direct observation, grounded in a philosophical framework broad enough to redefine what counts as evidence. For the Society, which participated in the program co-organized by Dr. Gretchen Stahlman, a recently-appointed Society Advisory Council member, the event marked a significant cultural shift—from secrecy toward transparency, and from fragmentation toward integration and collaboration—echoing the Society’s own AURA/UPWARD vision of structured, collaborative, and interdisciplinary inquiry.
Community Reading Circle
Our monthly Community Reading Circle returns on September 20th with a special session featuring author Greg Bishop. Together, we will explore his classic book Project Beta: The Story of Paul Bennewitz, National Security, and the Creation of a Modern UFO Myth. In this landmark work, Bishop traces how government disinformation, psychological pressure, and cultural mythmaking converged in one of the most controversial episodes in modern UFO history. This case continues to shape how we think about UAPs, secrecy, and the boundaries of belief. Bishop will join us live for the discussion, sharing behind the scenes insights into his research and engaging with participant questions. Whether you have read the book cover to cover or are simply curious about the themes, this will be a unique opportunity to connect directly with the author and your fellow members in a collegial, exploratory setting.
Education - Academic Courses
Learn with SUAPS: Online Academic Courses
How do we move from speculation to understanding? The Society for UAP Studies has developed a growing suite of online academic courses that bring rigorous, evidence-led learning to the study of UAP and related issues.These courses are designed for a wide audience—scholars, professionals, and curious learners alike. Each module is created with expert educators and blends interdisciplinary research, historical context, and methodological training. Participants will explore the scientific, cultural, and policy dimensions of UAP studies while gaining tools to critically assess data and claims. Accessible worldwide, courses are self-paced and affordable, making high-quality instruction available to anyone who wants to engage more deeply with this emerging field.
📚 Enroll today and start your learning journey; special membership discounts apply:
Get Involved
Register for the Dec 4–6 Annual Conference (mid October 2025)
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Send us your news tips, story ideas or photos for our newsletter. We want to hear from you! Send to Newsletter editor Deb West at: deborah.west@societyforuapstudies.org
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