Robert G. Jahn
Robert G. Jahn | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Princeton University |
| Known for | Magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters; Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Aerospace engineering, Plasma physics |
| Institutions | Princeton University |
Robert G. Jahn (1930–2017) was an American aerospace engineer and plasma physicist. He served as Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University and was a pioneer of electric space propulsion. He is listed in The Worldwide List of Dissident Scientists.
Electric propulsion
Jahn conducted extensive research on electric propulsion for spacecraft, using high-power electrical discharges to accelerate working fluids to very high velocities. He is particularly associated with the study of magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters, in which intense discharges and the resulting plasma streams are configured to provide a combination of high specific impulse and high thrust density intended for advanced deep-space propulsion. His textbook Physics of Electric Propulsion became a standard reference in the field.
Consciousness research
In 1979 Jahn founded the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory, which operated until 2007 and investigated whether human intention could influence the output of physical devices such as random event generators. With his collaborator Brenda Dunne he developed "A Modular Model of Mind/Matter Manifestations" (M5), an interpretive framework based on the laboratory's long-running datasets. This line of work lies outside the scientific mainstream, and PEAR's claims were widely criticized by other researchers.