Bruce Maccabee

Bruce S. Maccabee was born on 6 May 1942 in Rutland, Vermont. He completed a Bachelor of Science in physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, then earned a Master of Science in 1967 and a Doctor of Philosophy in physics in 1970, both from American University in Washington, DC.

In 1972 he joined the Naval Ordnance Laboratory at White Oak in Silver Spring, Maryland, which later became the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division. He worked as an optical physicist for thirty-six years. His government research included optical data processing, generation of underwater sound with lasers, Strategic Defence Initiative and Ballistic Missile Defence applications using high-power lasers, and technologies related to homeland security and counter-improvised explosive device programmes. He retired from government service in 2008.

Maccabee's engagement with the UFO subject began in the late 1950s, when he read Captain Edward Ruppelt's The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (1955) as a teenager in Rutland. In 1979 he was instrumental in establishing the Fund for UFO Research and served as its chairman for approximately thirteen years. He died on 10 May 2024 in Lima, Ohio, aged 82.

Maccabee's contribution to the UFO record was methodological. He applied the analytical tools of optical physics to photographic and video evidence of reported unidentified aerial phenomena: photographic measurement, film density scanning, triangulation, frame-by-frame motion analysis, and the assessment of veiling glare in camera lens systems. He published his methodology in peer-reviewed and specialist journals over four decades.

His analysis of the McMinnville, Oregon, photographs taken by Paul Trent in 1950 was published as "On the Possibility that the McMinnville Photos Show A Distant Unidentified Object" in the proceedings of the 1976 Center for UFO Studies symposium. A supplementary paper was completed in 1981 and published in 1989 in Spectrum of UFO Research. He analysed the Gulf Breeze, Florida, photographs of 1987 to 1988 and published his findings in the Journal of Scientific Exploration ("Analysis and Discussion of the May 18, 1992 UFO Sighting in Gulf Breeze, Florida," Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 241 to 257, 1993). He analysed the Phoenix Lights of 13 March 1997, the New Zealand sightings of December 1978, and the Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 incident of November 1986, among others.

He co-authored a paper with J. Deardorff, B. Haisch, and H. E. Puthoff, "Inflation-Theory Implications for Extraterrestrial Visitation," published in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (Vol. 58, pp. 43 to 50, 2005). He published a paper on anomalous magnetic field measurements following a UAP sighting in the Journal of Scientific Exploration (Vol. 8, No. 3, p. 347, 1994).

Maccabee published several books drawing on his analytical work. The UFO-FBI Connection: The Secret History of the Government's Cover-Up (Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2000) documented the FBI's engagement with the UFO subject using files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Three Minutes in June: The UFO Sighting that Changed the World (2017) and The Legacy of 1952: The Year of the UFO (2018) were self-published in his later years.

• 1942, Born 6 May, Rutland, Vermont.
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Bachelor of Science in physics.
• 1967, Master of Science in physics, American University, Washington, DC.
• 1970, Doctor of Philosophy in physics, American University.
• 1972, Joined the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (later Naval Surface Warfare Center), White Oak, Silver Spring, Maryland. Optical physicist.
• 1976, Published McMinnville/Trent photographic analysis, CUFOS Symposium proceedings.
• 1979, Co-founded the Fund for UFO Research. Served as chairman for approximately thirteen years.
• 1993, Published Gulf Breeze photographic analysis, Journal of Scientific Exploration.
• 1994, Published magnetic field anomaly paper, Journal of Scientific Exploration.
• 1997, Analysed the Phoenix Lights, 13 March.
• 2000, Published The UFO-FBI Connection (Llewellyn Publications).
• 2008, Retired from the Naval Surface Warfare Center after thirty-six years of government service.
• 2017, Published Three Minutes in June.
• 2018, Published The Legacy of 1952.
• 10 May 2024, Died, Lima, Ohio.

Maccabee's published papers in the Journal of Scientific Exploration and the proceedings of the CUFOS symposium constitute his primary analytical contribution. The McMinnville analysis (1976, with 1981/1989 supplement), the Gulf Breeze analysis (JSE, 1993), and the magnetic field anomaly paper (JSE, 1994) are the most cited.

The UFO-FBI Connection (Llewellyn Publications, 2000; expanded as The FBI CIA UFO Connection, 2014) documents the FBI's engagement with the UFO subject using FOIA-obtained files. The JBIS co-authored paper with Deardorff, Haisch, and Puthoff (Vol. 58, 2005) applies inflation theory to the extraterrestrial hypothesis.

Maccabee maintained a personal website at brumac.mysite.com (and earlier at brumac.8k.com) hosting his published analyses and case files. The site went offline following his death in May 2024. Archived versions may be accessible through the Wayback Machine.

• Phoenix Lights, 1997, the case Maccabee analysed.
• J. Allen Hynek, founder of the Center for UFO Studies, which published Maccabee's McMinnville analysis.
• United States country profile.
• APRO Bulletin, contemporary research network.