HAARP -- Key Persons Directory

HAARP -- Key Persons Directory

The Scientists

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)

Croatian-American inventor and electrical engineer; naturalized U.S. citizen. Responsible for alternating current electrical systems, the AC induction motor, the transformer, and the Tesla coil. Claimed in public statements in 1915 and 1940 to have developed "teleforce" -- a directed-energy weapon capable of destroying aircraft at 250 miles. Died January 7, 1943, in Room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel, New York City. His papers were seized by the FBI within hours of his death. His electromagnetic patents are cited as prior art in the Eastlund HAARP patent.

Bernard Eastlund (1938-2007)

American plasma physicist. PhD in physics. Worked for the Strategic Defense Initiative. Worked for APTI (Advanced Power Technologies Inc.). Filed U.S. Patent 4,686,605 in 1985 (granted 1987) for a method of altering the Earth's atmosphere using high-frequency radio transmission. The patent lists weather modification, missile destruction, and global communications disruption as capabilities. APTI was awarded the initial HAARP construction contract. Eastlund later claimed HAARP was built using his patents without full acknowledgment. Died December 2007. His patent remains the primary documentary foundation of HAARP conspiracy research.

Umran Inan

Professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University. His research group has collaborated extensively with HAARP, using its ELF and VLF wave generation capabilities to study lightning-ionosphere interactions. Has stated publicly that HAARP cannot affect Earth's weather: "There's absolutely nothing we can do to disturb the Earth's weather systems. Even though the power HAARP radiates is very large, it's minuscule compared with the power of a lightning flash."

The Conspiracy Critics

Nick Begich Jr.

Alaskan author and researcher. Son of U.S. Representative Nick Begich Sr. (who disappeared in a 1972 Alaska plane crash). Co-authored "Angels Don't Play This HAARP" (1995) with Jeane Manning. Primary popular critic of HAARP for three decades. Argues for independent international oversight rather than shutdown: "The government hasn't been up-front about the nature of these programs, and they're utilizing the system to manipulate portions of the environment without full disclosure to the public." Has stated concern about the ELF brain-frequency overlap, potential environmental effects, and the military's lack of transparency about HAARP's full operational scope.

Jeane Manning

Canadian journalist and author. Co-authored "Angels Don't Play This HAARP" with Nick Begich. Has written extensively about alternative energy technologies and their suppression. Brought the Eastlund patent to Begich's attention through a contact who sent her the patent document in 1990.

Jerry E. Smith

Author of "HAARP: The Ultimate Weapon of the Conspiracy" (1998). Suggested HAARP was "rushed into completion" following the 2005 hurricane season to prevent storms from making landfall -- a claim inconsistent with HAARP's documented timeline (full capability reached 2007).

The Political Figures

William Cohen

U.S. Secretary of Defense 1997-2001 under President Clinton. Made the April 28, 1997 public statement that adversaries can "alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves." The statement remains in the public record; its full implications remain contested.

Maj Britt Theorin

Swedish Member of the European Parliament. Served as rapporteur for the Foreign Affairs, Security, and Defence Policy Committee. Introduced and championed the 1999 European Parliament resolution calling for HAARP to be "more closely examined" by an independent international body.

Program Officials

John L. Heckscher

U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory; HAARP program manager during the facility's construction phase. Primary Air Force point of contact for public and scientific questions about the program. Consistently maintained that HAARP's research goals were purely scientific.

Konstantin Papadopoulos

University of Maryland physicist; long-term collaborator with HAARP research. Dismissed mind control claims: "You hear these people talking about mind control, and it's just not serious. We have difficulty measuring the signal. We do experiments all the time up there, and we don't wear hats."