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Dennis Stillings Bioelectromagnetics, Ufology, and related subjects research papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 1035
Finding aid note: Digital collection with nearline identifier numbers MS1035aip_001 through _013.

Content Description

Digital donation of paranormal research with topics ranging from parapsychology, bioelectromagnetism, health management, ufology, mythical and cryptid creatures. Much of this research spurred from the Archaeus Project which began as a discussion group in Earl Bakken's home. Other contributors such as the Bakken Museum highlight the history of electricity, electrotherapy, and the institution itself. Lastly the final contributor, the Kohala Center showcases documentation of the center's creation as well as some conference materials. The center focuses on research for healthier ecosystems. Formats of the digital materials include JPEGs, audio and video recordings, PDFs, and Word Docs. Also included is the physical book "Lo Imaginario en el Contacto Ovni" by Dennis Stillings, to be cataloged separately.

Dates

  • circa 1950-2020

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research. Please be aware that this collection only exists in digital form, with nearline identifier numbers MS1035aip_001 through _013. Contact archives staff at woodson@rice.edu for further access information.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish from the Dennis Stillings Bioelectromagnetics, Ufology, and related subjects research papers, 1950-2020, MS 1035, must be facilitated through the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University and the copyright holder. The Woodson Research Center use policy is that researchers assume sole responsibility for any infringement of privacy, literary rights, copyrights, or other rights arising from their use of the archival materials.

Biographical / Historical

In 1969, Dennis Stillings worked as a technical research librarian at Medtronic, an American medical device company, and was approached by one of the company’s co-founders, Earl Bakken to start a collection. Bakken had an interest in collecting machines that used therapeutic electricity. Initially Stillings could not acquire these and instead suggested collecting books on the subject. For the next decade Stillings pursued national and international antiquarian booksellers. He would also develop relationships with medical instrument dealers to build at that time “the world’s only library and museum collection devoted primarily to medical electricity.”

In the early portion of the 1970s the collection was kept at the Medtronic corporate headquarters in St. Anthony, Minnesota. Later the collection moved to a branch office in the Earle Brown Center taking up one floor becoming the Medtronic Museum of Electricity in Life. In October of 1975 the museum was renamed to the Bakken Museum of Electricity in Life and incorporated it as a private, non-profit foundation. In 1976 the group acquired property on the west shore of the Lake Calhoun, now Bde Maka Ska, in Minneapolis where the museum is still in operation. The continued interest in electricity and other related fields such as magnetics aided in the decision to form a non-profit organization that studied their utilization to diagnose and treat diseases. From there the organization known as the Archaeus Project was born in 1982. The group organized lectures, held two conferences and several other events, and generated publications such as Archaeus, Healing Island, and the newsletter, Artifex. The organization moved to Hawaii in 1993. Notably they were one of the groups involved in paranormal fields such as ufology and parapsychology. The organization became for profit in 2000 and Stillings became the sole proprietor.

Excerpted partially from: Steinke, Cynthia A. History of science and technology: A Sampler of centers and collections of Distinction. Haworth Press, 1994. and D. Stillings, "Otto Schmitt and the Archaeus Project: adventures in the anomalous," in IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 57-59, Nov.-Dec. 2004, doi: 10.1109/MEMB.2004.1378635.

Extent

234 Gigabytes (Digital collection with nearline identifier numbers MS1035aip_001 through _013.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

This collection includes lectures, photographs, correspondence, journals, a newsletter, and custodial documents such as meeting minutes related to projects overseen by Stillings. The bulk of the collection pertains to Stillings' involvement with the group, the Archaeus Project.

Arrangement

This material is arranged by original order. Dates ranging from the late 1990s-2000s generally reflect digital dates whereas dates from the 1970s-1980s reflect creation dates.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Dennis Stillings, 2022, via external hard drive.

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Creator

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Dennis Stillings Bioelectromagnetics, Ufology, and related subjects research papers
Status
Completed
Author
Sylvia Podwika
Date
2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892