Ufology's Generation NOW - #7, Will Wise

Will Wise is a very bright guy - he graduated magna cum laude from Virginia Wesleyan College with a dual-major in Philosophy and Religious Studies, and has a Master's Degree in Software Engineering from Brandeis University. After working for several Boston area biotech firms, he founded his own software development consultancy, Digital Elite Inc.

Will, 36 years old, is "wise" as well as bright (the two traits don't always go hand in hand), and maintains a skeptical but open-minded stance towards the UFO phenomenon. He stays in the background for the most part - largely, it seems, because he has neither the time nor the patience for the petty turf wars that are part and parcel of today's ufology (and also, I have no doubt, because he has a real job, and a real life). This means that most readers probably aren't really aware of him, but he plays a critical role in maintaining perhaps the single most important research resource on the Internet - The Project Blue Book Archive, which provides the most comprehensive on-line interface to documents dealing with the American government's investigation of the UFO phenomenon. You won't hear this mentioned on the paranormal radio shows, or on the conference circuit, and that's a shame, and part of the problem with modern ufology. As Brad Sparks said to me last week, there are literally thousands upon thousands of pages of Blue Book materials that no-one has ever really looked at, and which might contain very important cases. The Project Blue Book Archive provides everybody who has a computer an opportunity to do some original research, and maybe be the nexy guy or gal to find a Big Case.

In short, it provides them with the opportunity to walk the walk as well as talk the talk, all from the comfort of their own home.

If there is to be a future for the serious study of the UFO phenomenon, it's guys like Will - talented, bright, hard-working, open-minded, and more concerned with results than selling books or self-aggrandizement - who will be at the forefront.

Paul Kimball