Dr. Tom Passell in His Office in Mountain View, CA, April 2021
(Please note: The description below of Dr. Passell’s LRDI Report was prepared with Chat GPT.)
Executive Summary
Dr. Tom Passell was one of the earliest and most influential institutional supporters of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR). As Project Manager at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), he helped establish one of the world’s largest utility-sponsored LENR research programs following the 1989 announcement of cold fusion. He later continued experimental and theoretical work through D2 Fusion and TOP Consulting while preserving an exceptional archive of LENR research materials.
Research Career
Before entering the LENR field, Dr. Passell accumulated more than thirty-five years of experience in chemistry, nuclear physics, plasma physics, radiochemistry, calorimetry, neutron dosimetry, corrosion chemistry, neutron activation analysis, gamma-ray spectroscopy, and thin-film technology. His professional appointments included Phillips Petroleum, SRI International, Physics International, Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory, EPRI, D2 Fusion, and TOP Consulting. Following the Fleischmann–Pons announcement, he redirected EPRI resources toward replication studies and helped oversee more than $9 million of LENR research.
Research Locations
Dr. Passell’s principal LENR work was conducted at EPRI in Palo Alto, SRI International in Menlo Park, D2 Fusion in Foster City, and TOP Consulting in Mountain View, California. He also collaborated with researchers at the University of Missouri Research Reactor and the University of Texas and participated in numerous International Conferences on Cold Fusion.
Principal Collaborators
His collaborators included Michael C. H. McKubre, Fran Tanzella, Edmund Storms, Peter Hagelstein, Eugene Mallove, Russ George, Tadahiko Mizuno, Mahadeva Srinivasan, Kevin Wolf, Joseph Santucci, and many members of the international LENR community. Through EPRI he fostered collaboration among utilities, universities, industrial laboratories, and independent researchers.
Publications, Presentations, and Reports
The LRDI report identifies nineteen LENR publications associated with Dr. Passell, including ICCF conference papers, Journal of New Energy articles, Journal of Condensed Matter Nuclear Science papers, EPRI reports, glow-discharge calorimetry studies, isotope investigations, and his 2015 paper proposing the Oppenheimer–Phillips mechanism as an explanation for excess heat.
Interviews
The LRDI project conducted four extensive interviews during 2020 and 2021. Two covered Dr. Passell’s overall career in LENR, one focused on the SRI International research program, and one examined his Oppenheimer–Phillips theory. All interviews were transcribed, reviewed, and corrected.
Materials in the LRDI Archive
The archive includes nineteen laboratory notebooks, an extensive LENR reference library, electronic files from laboratory computers and floppy disks, 218 inventoried hard-copy research files, photographs, VHS recordings, reports, correspondence, technical memoranda, and interview transcripts. It is among the most comprehensive individual archives documented by the LENR Research Documentation Initiative.
Historical Significance
Dr. Passell played a central role in sustaining institutional support for LENR during its formative years. His leadership at EPRI, continued scientific investigations, theoretical contributions, and preservation of documentary records make his archive one of the cornerstone collections of the LRDI and an important resource for future historians of condensed matter nuclear science.
Additional Photos
Dr. Grimshaw (left) and Dr. Passell at a Restaurant near Dr. Passell’s Laboratory during a Site Visit
Mountain View, CA, August 2021
LRDI Report for Dr. Passell: Citation and Download