Tribute to Dr. Eugene Mallove
By Marc Plotkin and Marc Whitford

Dr. Eugene Mallove, Torch Bearer for Cold Fusion, Slain

Editor of Infinite Energy magazine brutally killed May 14.  Left MIT faculty position in 1989 in protest over what he considered to be rigged data intended to debunk Cold Fusion.

By Marc J. Plotkin and Marc Whitford
Pure Energy Systems News
May 15, 2004
NORWICH, CT, USA

Dr. Eugene Mallove, the tireless spokesperson for integrity and honesty in cold fusion research, whose persistent efforts finally persuaded the U.S. Department of Energy to give the phenomenon a second look after 15 years of denial and stonewalling, was killed in Norwich, CT on 14 May 2004. Few facts are known, but preliminary information suggests that it may have been a robbery or possibly a landlord-tenant dispute. Local police are still investigating. There is no word on the identity or motives of the assailant(s) and there is no evidence currently of a political connection to his murder.

Dr. Mallove's contributions to Cold Fusion and new energy research cannot be overstated. His passion for integrity and relentless search for the truth emerged fully in 1989 when he resigned in protest from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. over their manipulation of test data to make a Pons-Fleischmann replication study appear to show a negative result.

More than anyone, Dr. Mallove was the public face of Cold Fusion proclaiming in many public appearances the existence of overwhelming peer-reviewed scientifically-based evidence for Cold Fusion. Gene, as he was known to his friends and colleagues, was courageous when he stood face-to-face against numerous vocal detractors and skeptics from the mainstream scientific establishment for over a decade. He tirelessly knocked down every hollow argument put forward by skeptics with hard data, logic, and solid research results.

The author of several books, in 1991, he published "Fire and Ice", which helped rescue the field of cold fusion from oblivion when it was publicly banished in the public relations scandals after Pons-Fleischman's announcement of Cold Fusion in June 1989.

His greatest accomplishment and legacy will be the 52 bi-monthly magazine issues of Infinite Energy that he founded and edited. Infinite Energy magazine is a compendium of scientific research into all branches of unconventional energy research from contributors around the world. Many of the authors simply couldn't get published elsewhere, but had the courage and foresight to get most papers peer-reviewed before they were published. His magazine has thousands of loyal subscribers from over 40 countries including Russia and China. See www.infinite-energy.com.

Gene traveled to dozens of international conferences, most of the time at great personal sacrifice simply to network with energy researchers and benefactors from around the world. He knew nearly everyone in the unconventional energy community worldwide. Gene has been a champion of cold fusion for many years highlighted by his organizing last summer's successful International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF-10) held in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 24- 29 August 2003. Gene's presence has been the rare voice of scientific reason in a field filled with many phony claims and charlatans. See the web page with the experiments at http://www.lenr-canr.org/Experiments.htm.

Equally significant but perhaps not as well known is the New Energy Foundation, which he founded with the help of a generous wealthy anonymous benefactor. The New Energy Foundation has become a science-based clearinghouse, generating much needed funds for promising energy research leading to commercialization.

His latest triumph was to reverse over a decade of ignorance at the Department of Energy by presenting compelling evidence of anomalous reactions of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR). DOE's decision to review the files on LENR aka Cold Fusion could possibly open a new area of scientific inquiry that has been closed since 1989. This was a triumph not just for Gene personally, but for every scientist who spoke as lone voices in large auditoriums. Gene's voice gave courage to those brave individuals who toiled in their laboratories, struggling to survive with virtually no funding.  Despite their challenges, many developed innovative ways produce low energy nuclear reactions. Researchers often put their careers in jeopardy, and some only approached this field when a retirement pension was assured.

Gene tirelessly climbed every mountain with courage and grace articulating truth in a field meriting serious scientific investigation of anomalous energy phenomena despite constant criticism from ignorant skeptics who refused to examine even the best peer-reviewed data. One of the best examples of his battles was when he eviscerated Professor Bob Park's book "Voodoo Science."

"Gene's vision was of a world with abundant energy produced without fossil fuel or nuclear waste. It is now up to us to fearlessly make that vision a reality," is the sentiment of his colleagues who remain.