SSE President, Professor William Bengston on left
About the SSE
The Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE) is a professional organization of scientists and scholars who study unusual and unexplained phenomena. Subjects often cross mainstream boundaries, such as consciousness, unidentified aerial phenomena, and alternative medicine, yet often have profound implications for human knowledge and technology.
The SSE was founded in 1982 and has approximately 800 members in 45 countries worldwide. The SSE publishes a peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Scientific Exploration (JSE), and holds annual meetings in the USA and biennial meetings in Europe. Associate and student memberships are available to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend meetings and participate with the society.
SSE Boulder is a local SSE group featuring monthly science lecture luncheons.
SSE Boulder was co-founded in 2008 by Gene Milstein and Paul Sperry
Gene Milstein
Gene Milstein’s academic background includes 5 years at UC Berkeley where he studied physics, political science and biochemistry and biology. He studied piano, violin and clarinet in CA and CO and horticulture at the Denver Botanic Gardens where he worked as a volunteer for 2 years. In 1965 Gene founded Applewood Seed Company specializing in wildflowers, initially hand-collected on public land. He and his wife, Dee developed the company into an international grower and supplier of flower seeds to highway departments, golf courses, reclamation projects, and to other seed companies worldwide. The company is known for its innovative marketing and the high quality of its products. Gene serves the seed industry nationally on various committees and works closely with Colorado State University in the development and promotion of their online training program for purity and germination testing and the certification of seed analysts. He and Dee have studied metaphysics and spirituality for over 40 years.
Paul Sperry
Paul is an interdisciplinary scientist with a passion for recognizing universal patterns between seemingly disparate disciplines and schools of thought. He understands that science, like religion, builds upon truths established over time, yet realizes both avenues risk missing revelations when they rigidly defend their belief systems as sacrosanct. He is thus willing to consider all possibilities and follow where the data and grounded discernment lead. Paul’s traditional training includes degrees in chemistry and systems science. He began his career as a research scientist for 3M Company where he adapted new technologies into marketable products. He subsequently moved to the National Center for Atmospheric Research where he worked on acid rain, Arctic haze, stratospheric ozone, pollutant photochemistry and finally became Associate Director of their Atmospheric Chemistry Division. His next career role was Executive Director with theCooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, an institute of over 500 researchers, faculty, students and staff. He left the university in 2006 to investigate Earth energy phenomena at remote sites around the world. Paul and his partner, Maryann live in north Boulder.
