February 10, 2007 press statement about the closing of the PEAR laboratory.

Engineering and Consciousness

The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) program, which flourished for nearly three decades under the aegis of Princeton University's School of Engineering and Applied Science, has completed its experimental agenda of studying the interaction of human consciousness with sensitive physical devices, systems, and processes, and developing complementary theoretical models to enable better understanding of the role of consciousness in the establishment of physical reality. It has now incorporated its present and future operations into the broader venue of the International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL), a 501(c)(3) organization chartered in the State of New Jersey. In this new locus and era, PEAR plans to expand its archiving, outreach, education, and entrepreneurial activities into broader technical and cultural context, maintaining its heritage of commitment to intellectual rigor and integrity, pragmatic and beneficial relevance of its techniques and insights, and sophistication of its spiritual implications. As described more fully on the ICRL website, PEAR also will continue to provide the scholarly pedestal from which all other ICRL activities will radiate.

On the accompanying menu of pages we have attempted to sketch the substance, spirit, and findings of this scholarly endeavor. In addition, a few conceptual interpretations are offered on their fundamental and practical implications for basic science, engineering applications, and individual and collective human culture. Some fifty articles may be downloaded from the Publications page, which provide more detailed description of PEAR's research agenda addressing human/machine interactions, remote perception phenomena, and the proposition of theoretical models that appropriately engage the subjective correlates of these empirical effects. Also available are a number of more philosophical essays that speculate about the broader cultural and spiritual ramifications.

In addition, a comprehensive overview of the PEAR program, including five lectures, a virtual tour of the laboratory, and many other features that capture the unique spirit and substance of the PEAR enterprise, is now available on a DVD/CD set entitled "The PEAR Proposition," produced by Strip Mind Media, and sponsored and distributed by ICRL. Order on-line from the ICRL website.

Click here to preview "The PEAR Proposition" video.

(rev. 11/7/07)