MARCEN Journal

History

The Maryland Center for Investigation of Unconventional Phenomena, Inc. (MARCEN) published its journal from two addresses: PO Box 218, Kensington, Maryland 20795 (telephone 301-384-0816) and 13120 Clifton Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904 (telephone 301-384-7539). The organisation was incorporated under Maryland law as a nonprofit educational and scientific corporation with IRS Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Williard F. McIntyre, Ph.D. served as Director. Arthur F. Rosen, Sc.D. served as Assistant Director. The organisation maintained a two-tier membership structure: "Participating membership" required advanced degrees or training in the physical or sociological sciences, while "Sustaining membership" was open to anyone possessing an interest in the Center's goals who wished to support its work through annual dues. MARCEN described itself as "the only known organization with actual full participation of the membership" in directing its activities.

Volume II, Number I appeared in January 1979. The table of contents reveals the journal's ambitions: alongside articles on NICAP's demise ("What Happened to NICAP"), MUFON's growth ("MUFON The Largest UFO Organization"), and the New Zealand UFO film controversy, it published the organisation's Articles of Incorporation and ByLaws, a piece on the CIA and flying saucers, the Socorro, New Mexico landing case (with Iowan witnesses and analysis of the Socorro symbol), a French scientific study declaring UFOs real, the sunspot-UFO connection, NASA's denial of UFOs alongside the Air Force's admission of their reality, and personal theories on the nature of UFOs.

Volume II, Number II (February/March 1979) led with the New Zealand UFO film being "declared authentic by respected scientists" and devoted most of its pages to that case, including radar-visual-photographic sighting details, maps, and computer-enhanced cover photographs. The journal format allowed extended analytical treatment that shorter newsletters could not accommodate.

MARCEN joined the CRUFON network (Committee for the Registration of UFO Organizations), connecting it to the broader civilian research infrastructure of the late 1970s. The journal accepted "requests for information or contributions by individuals not members of the Center or from other organizations," maintaining an open-door policy for data sharing even while restricting active membership.