Special Collections Reading Room at the Marriott Library of the University of Utah, August 2021
(Please note: The description below of the LRDI Report on the Special Collections was prepared with Chat GPT.)
(Note 2: A visit lasing several days was made to the Marriott Library for this report in August 1991.)
Executive Summary
This report summarizes the LENR Research Documentation Initiative (LRDI) project conducted at the University of Utah, the birthplace of cold fusion following the March 23, 1989 announcement by Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann. The project documented, described, and assessed the University’s surviving cold fusion archives and established a foundation for future historical and archival research.
Historical Background
The University of Utah occupies a unique position in the history of LENR because it was both the site of the public announcement of cold fusion and the location where many of the ideas and experiments leading to that announcement were developed. The LRDI project reviewed the University’s archival holdings to preserve this important historical record.
Principal Archival Collections
The report concentrates on three major archival collections: the National Cold Fusion Institute (NCFI) records; the Future Energy Applied Technology (FEAT) and ENECO corporate archives; and the Bruce Lewenstein Cold Fusion Collection. Additional collections are identified for Charles Beaudette, John O’M. Bockris, Talbot Chubb, Craig Hibberd, Steven Jones, Michael Melich, and other contributors.
Research Methods
Preparation included review of the Marriott Library catalog followed by a four-day visit in August 2021. During the visit, archival materials were examined, photographed, selectively scanned, and documented. The March 23, 1989 press conference was also transcribed and incorporated into the documentation.
Materials Documented
The project identified more than 530 archival boxes containing institutional records, technical reports, correspondence, conference materials, patents, photographs, administrative files, corporate records, personal papers, and historical documents. Although original laboratory notebooks of Fleischmann and Pons were not located, the surviving collections constitute one of the world’s largest institutional archives devoted to cold fusion.
Historical Significance
The archives preserve the documentary record of one of the most significant scientific controversies of the late twentieth century. They document the origins of cold fusion, the National Cold Fusion Institute, commercialization efforts through FEAT and ENECO, and the broader scientific and institutional response.
Future Opportunities
The report recommends more detailed examination of individual collections, additional searches for missing Fleischmann and Pons research records, expanded documentation of individual researchers, and continued archival preservation.
Editorial Assessment
The University of Utah report is one of the cornerstone institutional reports in the LRDI series because it documents an archival ecosystem that connects many of the principal figures represented elsewhere in the collection.
Individual Researcher Collections
The University of Utah LRDI report identified six principal individual researcher collections preserved in the Marriott Library and University Archives.
Charles G. Beaudette
The Charles G. Beaudette Papers comprise 42 archival boxes containing writings, research files, correspondence, and documentation relating to cold fusion. Beaudette was an electrical engineer, author, and historian of the field.
John O’M. Bockris
The John O’M. Bockris Papers comprise 35 archival boxes containing personal papers, research materials, correspondence, and documentation related to his electrochemistry research, the Philadelphia Project, and investigations into allegations of scientific misconduct.
Talbot A. Chubb
The Talbot A. Chubb Papers comprise 97 archival boxes, making them one of the largest individual collections. They include professional writings, theoretical studies, proposals, conference materials, and subject files documenting his contributions to LENR theory.
Craig Hibberd
The Craig Hibberd Collection consists of one archival box containing newspaper and magazine articles documenting the 1989 cold fusion announcement and subsequent developments.
Steven E. Jones
The Steven E. Jones Papers comprise three archival boxes containing correspondence, research notes, and writings concerning cold fusion and related areas of physics.
Michael Melich
The Michael Melich Papers comprise 70 archival boxes containing administrative records, research materials, lecture notes, correspondence, and documents relating to his work at the Naval Research Laboratory, the Naval Postgraduate School, and his extensive involvement in LENR.
Major Institutional Collections
In addition to the individual collections, the report identifies three major institutional archives:
• National Cold Fusion Institute (NCFI): 15 archival boxes documenting the Institute from 1989 through 1991.
• FEAT/ENECO Records: Approximately 263 archival boxes documenting commercialization efforts and patent activities.
• Bruce Lewenstein Cold Fusion Collection: Three archival boxes containing historical documentation, including the 1995 Congressional Briefing Book and the Cornell Cold Fusion Archive chronology.
Addition of Edmund Storms LENR Files (After the LRDI Report) by Chat GPT
(Click here for more information on Dr Storms on this website).
Overview
The Edmund Storms Papers are preserved in the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections at the University of Utah. The collection documents Dr. Storms’ professional career as a nuclear chemist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and his subsequent independent investigations of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR). It is one of the cornerstone archival collections added through the LENR Research Documentation Initiative (LRDI).
Collection Description
The archival collection spans the years 1960–2018 and comprises approximately 14.6 linear feet housed in 36 archival boxes. The collection includes professional papers, scientific correspondence, laboratory records, research files, manuscripts, publications, conference materials, photographs, and digital media relating primarily to cold fusion and LENR research.
Organization of the Collection
The finding aid arranges the papers into seven principal series:
1. Los Alamos National Laboratory
2. Independent Investigation
3. ENECO
4. Lattice Energy
5. Kiva Labs
6. University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute
7. Digital Media
This arrangement preserves the organizational structure used during the LRDI documentation project.
Research Value
The Storms collection documents more than three decades of independent LENR research following Dr. Storms’ retirement from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1991. It contains drafts of publications, research notebooks and files, scientific correspondence with investigators throughout the world, conference presentations, experimental records, reviews of the LENR literature, and supporting documentation for his books and review articles.
Transfer to the Marriott Library
The transfer of Dr. Storms’ records to the Marriott Library in November 2021 served as the pilot archival project for the LENR Research Documentation Initiative. Fourteen storage tubs containing his historical records were delivered to the University of Utah, establishing procedures later used for additional LRDI archival donations.
Historical Significance
The Edmund Storms Papers constitute one of the most important individual archival collections documenting the history of LENR. Together with Dr. Storms’ published books, review articles, and recorded interviews, the collection provides an extensive primary-source record of one of the field’s longest and most influential scientific careers.
Additional Photos of the Marriott Library
View of the Marrott Library on the University of Utah Campus, August 2021
Example Containers (National Cold Fusion Institute) Used in Special Collections Archive, August 2021
LRDI Report for the Marriott Library, University of Utah: Citation and Download