UFO expert to speak at UNM

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Nuclear physicist and UFO-ologist Stanton Friedman cannot get enough of New Mexico, which is why he will be speaking on campus this week for the fourth year.

Friedman, 79, said he began researching UFOs and aliens in 1958 and will share his knowledge with students tonight in the SUB’s Ballroom C.

A veteran lecturer, Friedman said he has spoken at more than 600 college campuses across all 50 states, 10 Canadian provinces and 18 other countries. He said his background in physics and security has given him deeper insights to both UFOs and alien visitation.

“I worked in security for 14 years, so I can deal with the silly objections that governments can’t keep secrets. I helped keep secrets myself. I find people who say ‘secrets can’t be kept’ are people who don’t know anything about security,” he said. “As a nuclear physicist, I know about advanced propulsion systems and can deal with those objections.”

Friedman, who has authored five books and more than 90 academic papers on the subject, said he does not visit every reported UFO site, nor does he look at each individual sighting. Instead, he focuses on overall patterns, research from respected sources like other Ph.D. holders and case documentation from official and unofficial sources.

There are a number of reasons for alien life forms to visit Earth, Friedman said. Aliens could visit for research purposes, to mine for heavy metals, or coming to this planet could be used as a form of punishment, he said. But the biggest reason is that for any society, it is important to keep an eye on developing neighbors, he said.

“I am convinced that every advanced civilization is concerned about its own survival and security, if it’s not, it won’t last very long. That means you’ve got to keep tabs on the primitives in the neighborhood that show signs of being able to bother you,” he said. “By the end of World War II, remember, we killed 50 million of our own kind. We destroyed 1,700 cities. We’re not nice guys, not matter how you slice it.”

By the end of that war, Friedman said there were what he considers to be three signs that Earthlings were developing as a civilization, and would be worrisome to aliens. First, there were nuclear weapons. Next, he said, were the ways in which weapons were delivered to enemies, such as aerial bombings and last, the development of radar tracking.

“You put them all together and they say ‘Watch out! The idiots are coming,’” he said.

Friedman said students interested in studying UFOs should join the Mutual UFO Network, but warns there is no money in the career.

The Mutual UFO Network is an international nonprofit organization of about 3,000 members, according to the group’s website, mufon.com. MUFON was founded in 1969 and lists its goals as UFO investigation, research and education. The website also lists a local chapter in Roswell, NM.

Friedman said he believes that other civilizations exist in the universe and that within the next few decades, this fact will become common knowledge.

“I certainly don’t think we’re the only thinking beings in the universe. Let’s hope God can do a better job than this,” he said

UFO Speaker
Stanton Friedman
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

UNM SUB, Ballroom C
Free and open to the public
Tonight