J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies

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J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies

Foremost organization investigating unidentified flying objects. CUFOS was founded as the Center for UFO Studies in 1973 by J. Allen Hynek, a professor of astronomy at Northwestern University, and Sherman J. Larsen, an insurance salesman who had been active in the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). Through the 1960s Hynek was the chief consultant for the air force UFO project known as Blue Book, but later turned his attention to nurturing scholarly enthusiasm for the study of strange flying objects.

CUFOS grew through the 1970s and had its peak years toward the end of the decade. Allan Hendry joined the staff in 1976 as a full-time investigator. A newsletter grew into a periodical, the International UFO Reporter. The work of the center was hindered, however, by methodological problems, and as Hendry concluded in 1979 in a massive report on his ongoing research, its investigators lacked the tools to carry out their task. However, CUFOS carried on in an attempt to generate scholarly interest, maintain public support, and garner financial resources.

The center underwent substantial change in the mid-1980s. Hynek moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and then died in 1986. The center moved to Glendale, Arizona, and then to Chicago, Illinois. Mark Rodeghier succeeded to leadership of the organization, which took a new name in honor of its founder. The organization currently publishes the International UFO Reporter, a substantial magazine dealing with both recent sightings and the more theoretical issues surrounding UFOs; occasional monographs; and the scholarly Journal of UFO Studies. Address: 2457 W. Peterson Ave., Chicago, IL 60659. Website: http://www.cufos.org/.