UFO Phenomena International Annual Review

History

UPIAR launched in 1976 with a "miniature issue" and grew into a full annual review by 1978. Roberto Farabone served as Editor-in-Chief, Francesco Izzo as Managing Editor, Roberto Romagnoli as Secretarial Assistant, and Renzo Cabassi as Managing Publisher. The journal was published by EDITECS Publishing House, PO Box 190, 40100 Bologna, in conjunction with CNIFAA (Comitato Nazionale Indipendente per lo Studio dei Fenomeni Aerei Anomali).

The Advisory Board comprised six figures from the scientific and academic mainstream: Richard F. Haines (CUFOS, Los Altos), J. Allen Hynek (CUFOS, Evanston), David M. Jacobs (Temple University, Philadelphia), Jean Claude Ribes (CNRS, Paris), Berthold E. Schwarz (Essex County Hospital Center, Cedar Grove), and Ronald M. Westrum (Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti). The Editorial Board ran to over twenty members drawn from institutions in the United States, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, and Japan.

The journal operated a manuscript peer-review system, which its editorial described as "unpopular but absolutely necessary" for maintaining quality. It also published UPIAR Letters to Editors and States of the Art reviews designed to encourage criticism on major topics. The Volume 3, Number 1 issue (1978/1979) asked "Why Still UFO Phenomena?" in its editorial, reflecting on three years of publication and reaffirming its commitment to quality control and critical discourse.

UPIAR was published in English despite its Italian base, a deliberate choice to reach the international research community. The archive holds two copies of the Volume 3, Number 1 issue (one under each variant filename), suggesting this may be the only issue in the collection, though the journal began earlier and may have continued into the 1980s.