Philip S Callahan
Philip S. Callahan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 29, 1923 Fort Benning, Georgia, United States |
| Died | November 30, 2017 Edgewood, New Mexico, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Arkansas, Kansas State University |
| Known for | Insect infrared communication, Paramagnetism in agriculture |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Entomologist, Ornithologist, Biophysics |
Philip Serna Callahan (August 29, 1923 – November 30, 2017) was an American entomologist, ornithologist, and biophysicist. A career researcher with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a professor on the graduate faculty of the University of Florida, he is known for his research into the use of nonlinear far-infrared radiation by biological systems, his theories of insect communication based on the antenna and waveguide characteristics of insect spines, and his later writings on paramagnetism in agriculture and the Irish round towers.
Biography
Callahan was born on August 29, 1923, at Fort Benning, Georgia. He entered the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942 and served during World War II as a radio communication specialist, operating a classified radio-range station in Northern Ireland. After the war he traveled widely, working for a time as a freelance photographer and writer.
He attended Fordham University and later received his B.A. and M.S. degrees from the University of Arkansas and his Ph.D. from Kansas State University. Callahan served as an assistant and then associate professor in the Entomology Department at Louisiana State University, and was a professor of entomology on the graduate faculty of the University of Georgia. He joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture as Project Leader for Insect Biophysics at the Southern Grain Insects Research Laboratory in Tifton, Georgia. In 1969 he transferred to the USDA Insect Attractants, Behavior and Basic Research Laboratory in Gainesville, Florida, and served as a full professor on the graduate faculty of the University of Florida. After retiring from the USDA in 1986, he worked for a time with the Olive W. Garvey Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning in Wichita, Kansas, as an infrared systems and low-energy consultant. He was a member of the Explorers Club and, over his career, an author, inventor, photographer, and artist.
Callahan died on November 30, 2017, in Edgewood, New Mexico, at the age of 94.
Scientific contributions
Callahan's research centered on the utilization of nonlinear far-infrared radiation by biological systems and its potential applications to insect control. He developed theories of insect communication based on the waveguide characteristics of insect spines, proposing that such spines act as dielectric waveguide aerials capable of receiving short-wavelength infrared and microwave frequencies emitted by scent molecules. He described this line of work as the study of insect molecular bioelectronics.
In his later books, Callahan extended the concept of paramagnetism to agriculture, arguing that paramagnetic soils and rock materials influence plant growth. He also applied these ideas to the round towers of medieval Ireland, proposing in Ancient Mysteries, Modern Visions that the towers, built largely of paramagnetic stone, functioned as antenna-like resonant structures. These agricultural and archaeological interpretations lie outside the scientific mainstream.
Callahan was the author of more than 100 scientific papers and numerous books, including My Search for Traces of God, A Walk in the Sun, Nature's Silent Music, Ancient Mysteries, Modern Visions, Tuning in to Nature, and Paramagnetism.
Honors
- USDA Superior Service Award (1966)
- Sigma Xi distinguished research award, University of Georgia
- Sears Roebuck Foundation Award
Abstracts
- 1997 - "Sinewaves of Spacetime"
Books
- 1995 / 1998 - "Paramagnetism: Rediscovering Nature's Secret Force of Growth" (Read in full)