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+---
+created: 2025-07-22
+updated: 2025-07-22
+title: Hal Puthoff
+tags:
+  - person
+  - scientist
+  - physicist
+description: Hal Puthoff is a physicist who led the remote viewing research program at SRI. He was a key figure in the scientific investigation of psychic phenomena.
+---
+Harold E. "Hal" Puthoff is an American engineer and parapsychologist. In the early 1950s, as a junior high school student in Miami, he was a shy and quiet kid who loved tinkering with electronics, building gadgets, and operating a ham radio. He played the electric steel Hawaiian guitar in a band and dreamed of becoming a radio deejay. His father had passed away, and he lived with his mother and aunt, with limited financial resources. He attended a vocational high school.[^1]
+
+Two decades later, Puthoff earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University and became a lecturer in its electrical engineering department. He held a patent for a tunable infrared laser and co-authored an influential textbook, *Fundamentals of Quantum Electronics*. By his early thirties, he was a recognized figure in laser physics and engineering. Despite his technical prowess, he had a creative and energetic reputation, but also a quiet concern for deeper meanings, having explored Gestalt psychology and visited the Esalen Institute. He became bored with academia and his first marriage was failing. In 1969, Puthoff left Stanford and joined [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI), a scientific think tank with close ties to Stanford and significant government contracts. Initially working on laser-related projects, he soon developed an interest in conducting psi experiments to explore quantum theory. He secured initial funding of ten thousand dollars from philanthropist Bill Church, co-owner of Church's Fried Chicken.[^1]
+
+Puthoff's involvement in psi research escalated after he was contacted by artist [[Ingo Swann]], who claimed various psychic feats. In June 1972, Puthoff tested Swann at Stanford University's Varian Hall, where Swann appeared to affect the output of a highly sensitive experimental magnetometer designed to detect quarks. This event, though initially met with skepticism by others, convinced Puthoff that something paranormal had occurred. He circulated a report on the incident, which led to the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) approaching him to fund further research. In October 1972, with CIA funding, Puthoff began formal psi research at SRI, focusing on clairvoyance. He and his newly hired assistant, [[Russell Targ]], worked with Swann on various experiments, including those involving locked boxes and radioactive sources. Swann's suggestion to use geographical coordinates for remote viewing, initially met with skepticism from Puthoff and Targ, proved to be a breakthrough. This method, which Swann called "Scanate" (later known as Coordinate Remote Viewing or CRV), allowed psychics to describe distant locations given only their latitude and longitude, without prior knowledge of the target. This innovation significantly advanced the practical application of remote viewing for intelligence gathering.[^1]
+
+Puthoff became a central figure in the U.S. government's psychic spying program, which eventually became known as [[STARGATE PROJECT|Grill Flame]]. He and Targ published their findings in reputable scientific journals like *Nature* and *Proceedings of the IEEE*, despite significant controversy and skepticism from the scientific community. They also developed new terminology, such as "remote viewing," to describe the phenomena they were studying, aiming for a more scientific and sober approach. Puthoff was known for his calm demeanor, which helped him navigate the controversial field of parapsychology. He also conducted experiments with other psychics, including [[Pat Price]] and [[Uri Geller]], and explored various psi phenomena such as psychokinesis and telepathy. He was instrumental in developing and refining remote viewing protocols, including "outbound remote viewing" and "coordinate remote viewing" (CRV).[^1]
+
+---
+
+[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.