OUR TEAM

David has had a lifelong interest in the UFO subject and has actively investigated and researched the subject for 32 years. He joined The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) in 1990 and served as Field Investigator, State Section Director, and ultimately as Illinois State Director. In addition to lecturing on the subject at the university level, David has assisted the History, Learning, Discovery, Science, and Smithsonian Channel as well as numerous independent UFO documentary productions.

Notably, David is the author of the book Triangular UFOs: An Estimate of the Situation which collects, collates, and analyzes hundreds of reports of triangular shaped UFOs. In the process, he has created a detailed profile of these objects and written a rich narrative of their history.

David has accumulated one of the largest personal libraries of UFO books, journals, magazines, newspapers, microfilms, audio recordings, and case files from around the world that covers the last 75+ years. In November of 2020, he became the recipient of the world’s single-largest historical collection of UFO case files and initiated a project to digitize them to assist with research. Due to his role as curator for these files and his track record of credible historical research, he was offered, and accepted, the rare invitation of serving as a full Board Member with Dr. J. Allen Hynek’s Center for UFO Studies (or CUFOS).
 

David received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE). He currently works in the healthcare field for a New Mexico-based hospital network and resides in the Albuquerque, NM area with his wife and two daughters.

Mark Rodeghier is the scientific director and president of the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), a position he has held since 1986. He has a B.S. degree in astrophysics from Indiana University and received a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His work in the UFO field began with CUFOS in 1974, and he has done research and investigation in a variety of areas, including vehicle interference cases, physical trace events, abduction cases, especially the psychology and the sociology of abduction experiencers, scientists’ beliefs about UFOs, and patterns in UFO reporting.

Roderick (Rod) Dyke, born Seattle, Washington. Although born as a US citizen, he is a multi-national by birth (adding Irish and Canadian citizenships). Over the last 50 years, he has built successful businesses in the Seattle area with a focus on collectibles. He currently resides on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Rod's interest in UFOs/UAPs began in 1965, and he became a member of NICAP in 1966, with APRO following soon after. He originated the UFO Newsclipping Service in 1969, after seeing the need for UFO reports as noted in the press worldwide. The UFO Newsclipping Service ran 505 monthly issues (over 40 years), with David Marler serving as the last editor and publisher. 

Rod also originated the idea of a UFO Archive with the creation of The Archives for UFO Research (not to be confused with AFU in Sweden). The group have been very active in obtaining the research files of other well known researchers upon either their retirement from the field or upon their passing. Rod's archive is a diverse collection of some the most important UFO historical records in the country. 

Barry was employed by the U.S. Postal Service for 38 years in station administration and finances. He has pursued UFO and other aerial phenomena topics since 1964. Served as an investigator and state section director for Massachusetts MUFON for ten years. Specialized in researching government documents in the late 1970s, leading to co-authoring the book "Clear Intent" (with Larry Fawcett) in 1984. Also edited the newsletter "Just Cause" for "Citizens Against UFO Secrecy" (CAUS) from 1984 to 1998. Other research has been published in the "MUFON Journal," "Flying Saucer Review," “International UFO Reporter,” “Stendek,” “Lumieres dans la Nuit” and a variety of other national and international publications since the mid-1970s. In more recent years, he has specialized in UFO history, compiling "The New England Airship Wave of 1909" and editing "U.F.O. Historical Revue," a newsletter issued from 1998 to date. Also contributed to the history book "UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry" (2012).

He has also published the online "Union Catalog of Periodical UFO Articles", a massive reference listing of UFO articles published in worldwide periodical literature. His UFO periodical collection is an element of  foundation for a complete reference set of publications in the English language. He is currently an associate of "Project 1947," and the "Sign Historical Group" (SHG), both historical collection efforts on odd aerial phenomena. He has spent thousands of hours in library and archive research at Harvard, MIT, Boston University, University of Arizona, Boston Public Library, Library of Congress and the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and Suitland, Maryland and oversees of one of the larger archives of historical UFO materials in existence.

Rob Swiatek is a board member of the Mutual UFO Network and a director of the UFO Research Coalition and the Fund for UFO Research. He has an educational background in science and spent the lion's share of his career at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, where he worked in aeronautics, among many other subject areas. Prior to his employment with the USPTO, he spent a brief stint with NASA on the Seasat project. His fascination with the UFO phenomenon began in the late 1960s, when his interest was piqued by sighting reports in the media and the then-ongoing investigation into UFOs by the University of Colorado

Jan L. Aldrich was born April 14, 1944, and now resides in Canterbury, Connecticut. He received a B.A. in History from the University College, University of Maryland. Aldrich retired from the U.S. Army with over 25 years in the field artillery and seven overseas tours. He has had 16-years experience in meteorology with the remaining time in intelligence, personnel, and safety positions. In spite of his many overseas assignments, plus the continental United States, Jan has had no significant UFO personal experiences.

Since 1995, Mr. Aldrich has worked full-time in Project 1947, a research effort funded by CUFOS, FUFOR, and MUFON, now called the UFO Research Coalition. Over three-hundred contributors worldwide have submitted over 10,000 pages of personal accounts, newspaper clippings, reports, and government documents to Project 1947. In 1996, with the assistance of "America On Line" and other researchers, he created a private E-mail computer network, the Project 1947 E-mail Research List, to share and to encourage serious UFO research worldwide. 

Project 1947 continues and welcomes further contributions to the collection, research, and analysis of pre-47, 1947, and early UFO era material, and presentation of results of these efforts. We continue to seek data for the year 1947. We are also looking for material from the 1900-1946 period, the early UFO era 1948-1965, and early scientific and official interest. We are interested in copying significant collections of early UFO material for archive purposes. Leads, hints, references, and resources are most welcome.

Barry Roth has been interested in the subject of unidentified flying objects since he was 15 years old. He has been a passionate researcher and has read hundreds of books and reviewed unclassified documents on unexplained aerial phenomena and related subject matter.

Barry joined the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) in 1999. He became a board member of the Colorado chapter of MUFON (COMUFON) in 2001.  He was later appointed as MUFON’s Public Information Officer from 2009 to 2012. Barry was tasked with putting together an information and education program on the history of UFOs.  He is currently the Treasurer, Education Specialist and Speaker Coordinator for the MUFON Colorado chapter.

Barry is the author of the book, A Brief History of Ufology, 1941 – 2011, Significant UFO Events Throughout the Modern Era. His research covers military involvement, law enforcement and pilot encounters, multiple-witness sightings, and physical trace evidence. Barry has been a guest speaker for various organizations interested in a better understanding of historical events involving unidentified aerial phenomena.

Barry currently lives in Centennial, Colorado, with his wife, Dale. He is an avid skier and enjoys camping and hiking in the Colorado Rockies.

Michael Schratt (private pilot/aviation historian) has been investigating UFO encounters for over 25 years. Between 2008 and 2009, Michael meticulously reviewed a minimum of 50,000 cases which were preserved at the CUFOS (Center for UFO Studies) archives in Chicago. In an effort to maintain an important part of our national history, Michael has re-created hundreds of highly credible UFO cases by the use of drawings, illustrations and commissioned artwork. Many of these include USO (Unidentified Submerged Objects), actual extraterrestrial encounters, and pre-history UFO cases which have never seen the light of day. In addition, he has visited multiple University Special Collection archives, MUFON HQ, Gray Barker UFO collection, David Marler UFO collection, and performed the most exhaustive research effort on the Leonard Stringfield UFO Crash/Retrieval historical cases. Michael has appeared on multiple media platforms including the following: Coast to Coast AM, History Channel, Paranormal Matrix, UFO Hunters, Fade to Black. In addition, Michael has been a guest speaker at multiple UFO conferences including the following: Phoenix MUFON, Orange County MUFON, International UFO Congress, MUFON Symposium and UFO CON.

Micah Hanks is a writer, researcher, and longtime advocate for scientific research into unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). He is a contributing member of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU), and co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Debrief, a news site devoted to science, defense, and technology. He is the author of several books and has contributed articles and essays to various anthologies related to the UAP subject.