Scientist's violent death - shocks cold fusion research

Fire from Ice:
Searching for the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor

CLICK:

Scientist's violent death shocks cold fusion research network

July 27, 2004
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2004/07/27/scientists_violent_death_shocks_cold_fusion_research_network/

Eugene Mallove, one of cold fusion's most ardent advocates, was overjoyed in April when the US Department of Energy agreed to give the scorned subject another review. To him, it was a breakthrough: Years of work trying to get mainstream science to pay attention to cold fusion seemed to be paying off.

But a month later, on May 14, Mallove was dead, brutally murdered at his childhood home in Norwich, Conn,

Police, who have not yet made an arrest in the murder, have no evidence Mallove's cold fusion work contributed to his death -- they believe it was an act of random violence. To still-reeling friends, family, and colleagues, however, Mallove's death was particularly cruel because he was so optimistic that cold fusion was finally going to get its just review.

''My father was so passionate about doing what he felt was right (even though) everywhere he turned doors were shut in his face," said his daughter Kimberlyn Woodard. She used to affectionately call her father the ''mad scientist" for the experiments he always had going in their home's basement. ''He was a brilliant man, he could have worked anywhere he chose and he gave that up because of the possibility there was something to cold fusion," she said.

Mallove, 56, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, was chief science writer at MIT when the cold fusion debacle exploded in 1989. Skeptical at first, he soon became a believer and grew increasingly frustrated with the scientific establishment's refusal to reexamine cold fusion. Finally, in 1991, he quit, disgusted with what he saw as mainstream scientists' unwillingness to look seriously at cold fusion.

Although Mallove had a master's degree from MIT and a doctorate from Harvard University, he rejected many aspects of mainstream science after quitting MIT and dedicated his life to publicizing the cold fusion field. He wrote a book, ''Fire from Ice," about the cold fusion episode and founded a New Hampshire-based magazine called Infinite Energy, focused on research related to cold fusion and other new energy sources. He wrote dozens of articles, essays, and papers and was well known around Pembroke, N.H., for his van's cold fusion decals and license plate INF-N-R-G, named after his magazine. He also ran the New Energy Foundation, backed by a wealthy anonymous benefactor that supported new kinds of energy research.

Money was always a struggle for Mallove. But he rejected the 9-to-5 science world -- refusing a ''humdrum" life, according to his now-grown son, Ethan, and he morally couldn't turn his back on cold fusion and the clean energy it promised. Mallove would spend hours patiently explaining cold fusion to people who had never heard of it, and friends say he was one of the most curious and kind people they had ever met. In the last few months before he died, as he celebrated the birth of his first grandchild, Mallove earned his real estate license to help with expenses.

''My father once said on the radio the arrogance of the scientific establishment was mind-boggling," said Ethan Mallove. ''It was disappointment after disappointment, but he was endlessly optimistic and there was no giving up."

Police found Mallove's body badly beaten at a family home that he rented out. He died of injuries to his neck and head. While conspiracy theories made the rounds on the Web, police believe the motive was most likely robbery. Mallove's Dodge Caravan van was found in an employee parking lot at Foxwoods Casino, a 15-minute drive away. Police say they are still waiting on lab results to make an arrest.

''It was important to my father that you keep an open mind to things and don't shut the door," said Woodard. ''He could never understand why there were these possibilities and no one looked at them. It wouldn't have hurt and it could only help."

BETH DALEY
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.

In memory of Eugene Mallove

Ludwik Kowalski (5/15/04)
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ, 07043

Eugene Mallove, the author of “Fire from Ice,” is dead. He was killed yesterday. It was “a homicide and an investigation is underway," according to Steven B. Krivit. Steven is another young journalist trying to promote the reevaluation of cold fusion; his e-mail message made me aware of Eugene’s death this morning. It was a real shock. I met Eugene at the 10th International Conference on Cold Fusion. We had several conversations. We disagreed on some topics but I was very impressed by his personality. We lost an admirable fighter and a master of carefully chosen words. He died without knowing the outcome of the pending DOE reevaluation of cold fusion. It was Eugene who made me aware, two months ago, that the reevaluation project was informally announced.

Here are nice words that Steven Krivit wrote about Eugene. ”Gene is survived by his wife Joanne, his son, Ethan, and his daughter, Kim. . . . We believe that Gene Mallove will one day be recognized as one of the greatest science journalists of his time. He was an authoritative historian and innovative investigator within the new energy field. Through his 1991 book, "Fire from Ice: Searching for the Truth behind the Cold Fusion Furor," Gene was the first to courageously and boldly express the reality of cold fusion, long before any other science journalist dared to ask questions that challenged the prevailing view. In 1996, he reached an even broader audience with his highly educational video, ‘Cold Fusion: Fire From Water.’

For 15 years, he worked tirelessly and relentlessly, at great personal sacrifice, to foster and oversee the development of cold fusion and other new energy experimentation at his New Energy Research Laboratory. He published Infinite Energy: The Magazine of New Energy Technology, which provided a "torch" of information that drew and enlightened many to the existence and legitimacy of cold fusion and other emerging new energy technologies. Most recently, he established the New Energy Foundation, a non-profit corporation, which provides grants to researchers and developers in the field of new energy.

Gene will be remembered for the immense support and encouragement he provided to cold fusion researchers around the world, whose progress and achievements he recognized, chronicled and publicized through a wide variety of media. His tremendous efforts have shown increasing success over the past few years and continue to bear fruit, as is evidenced by the growing media attention in support of cold fusion. Gene's generosity toward the scientific community, his commitment to the integrity of Science, and his dedication to creating a better world, will be forever appreciated and celebrated.”

Let me add that Mallove’s book is availble at <http://www.amazon.com>;I strongly recommend it for school libraries. Here is fragment from one of the reviewers of this fascinating book. “In Fire from Ice, astronautical engineer and well-known author, Eugene Mallove, sheds a new and very different light on the cold fusion confusion. Based on personal interviews with many of the people involved, as well as his firsthand experiences in laboratories and scientific conferences, he offers a unique insiders view of that divisive controversy, while at the same time clearly explaining the relevant science and technology. And Dr. Mallove convincingly argues that cold fusion may yet prove to be real. A story of scientific ambition and professional rivalry, political intrigue and hard science, Fire from Ice is the fascinating account of one of the most intense and momentous scientific controversies of all time.

And another book reviewer wrote: “"Mallove brings dramatically to life the human side of this important scientific controversy, which has tapped the emotions of its scientific participants in a way usually typical of major scientific revolutions. Fire from Ice is highly recommended reading for anyone who is interested in the nature of scientific controversy and scientific change. I frankly could not put the book down once I started it."

In an Internet testimony his friend, Mark Plotkin writes: “His greatest accomplishment and legacy will be the 52 bi-monthly magazine issues of Infinite Energy that he founded and edited. Infinite Energy magazine is a compendium of scientific research into all branches of unconventional energy research from contributors around the world. Many of the authors simply couldn't get published elsewhere, but had the courage and foresight to get most papers peer-reviewed before they were published. His magazine has thousands of loyal subscribers from over 40 countries including Russia and China. See www.infinite-energy.com.

Gene traveled to dozens of international conferences, most of the time at great personal sacrifice simply to network with energy researchers and benefactors from around the world. He knew nearly everyone in the unconventional energy community worldwide. Gene has been a champion of cold fusion for many years highlighted by his organizing last summer's successful (International Conference on Cold Fusion) ICCF-10 held in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 24- 29 August 2003. Gene's presence has been the rare voice of scientific reason in a field filled with many phony claims and charlatans. See the web page with the experiments at http://www.lenr-canr.org/Experiments.htm.

Equally significant but perhaps not as well known is the New Energy Foundation, which he founded with the help of a generous wealthy anonymous benefactor. The New Energy Foundation has become a science-based clearinghouse for generating much needed funds for promising energy research leading to commercialization.

His latest triumph was to reverse over a decade of ignorance at Department of Energy by presenting compelling evidence of anomalous reactions of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions. DOE's decision to review the files on LENR aka Cold Fusion could possibly open a new area of scientific inquiry that has been closed since 1989. This was a triumph not just for Gene personally, but for every scientist who spoke as lone voices in large auditoriums. Gene's voice gave courage to those brave individuals who toiled in their laboratories, struggling to survive with virtually no funding, yet many developed innovative ways produce low energy nuclear reactions (LENR). Researchers often put their careers in jeopardy and only approached this field when retirement was assured.

Gene tirelessly climbed every mountain with courage and grace articulating truth in a field meriting serious scientific investigation of anomalous energy phenomena despite constant criticism from ignorant skeptics who refused to examine even the best peer-reviewed data. One of the best examples of his fearless battles was when he reviewed Professor Bob Park's book “Voodoo Science.“ This bloody battle was over paradigm shifts in science revealing the complete ignorance of Bob Park by his refusal to consider any peer-reviewed data.

Gene's vision was of a world with abundant energy produced without fossil fuel or nuclear waste. It is now up to us to fearlessly make that vision a reality.
http://blake.montclair.edu/~kowalskil/cf/142mallove.html