- I am interested in the intersection of history, the sciences, intuitive thinking and practical problem-solving to understand and characterize artifacts retrieved from the south central Pacific island of Nikumaroro, especially as these might relate to the 1937 disappearance of Amelia Earhart.edit
The Nikumaroro hypothesis stipulates that in 1937 aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan met their end on an island 400 miles southeast of their intended destination, Howland Island. In August 2019, famed explorer and... more
The Nikumaroro hypothesis stipulates that in 1937 aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan met their end on an island 400 miles southeast of their intended destination, Howland Island. In August 2019, famed explorer and oceanographer Robert Ballard returned from Nikumaroro without having found the Earhart Electra, and many are now writing that searchers should look elsewhere, either in the waters off Howland Island or in areas formerly in the South Pacific Mandate, controlled by the Japanese. This paper explores previously discarded evidence from the Nikumaroro hypothesis, while proposing new possibilities for the disposition of Amelia Earhart’s Electra. I also discuss areas of the island that may be fertile ground for future research.
Research Interests:
Originally published in 2013 on the website TIGHAR.org, this document was the joint effort of a team of two archaeologists of renown, a world-class research chemist, and a data analyst with an occasional skill at writing. The article... more
Originally published in 2013 on the website TIGHAR.org, this document was the joint effort of a team of two archaeologists of renown, a world-class research chemist, and a data analyst with an occasional skill at writing. The article documents an attempt to use science and data to characterize a small, luminous jar found on the island of Nikumaroro in 2010. Here we attempt to answer the question of whether the jar was once owned by explorer, author, aviator, and trailblazer Amelia Earhart, and whether this might indicate a possible answer to the question of her disappearance somewhere in the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937, as she and navigator Fred Noonan attempted to complete a journey around the globe at the equator.