Jerome W. Elbert

Jerome W. Elbert has been fascinated by science since his childhood on an Iowa farm. He received a Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1972. Dr. Elbert has written or co-authored 120 scientific articles and has an international reputation in cosmic ray physics.

As a Research Professor at the University of Utah, Dr. Elbert helped create the Fly's Eye, an optical detector of extremely high energy cosmic rays. On October 15, 1991, the Fly's Eye observed the highest energy cosmic ray ever detected. This observation supports the idea that some cosmic rays travel to our galaxy from other galaxies.

He has a broad range of interests, including areas of the physical and biological sciences, philosophy, religion, and the history of ideas. Are Souls Real? required an author with such a scientific background and broad interests. Some of the topics covered by Are Souls Real? are discussed briefly at his web site: http://ourworld-top.cs.com/Demytholgizer/index.htm

Motivated by a long-term interest in issues near the boundaries of science and philosophy, Dr. Elbert resigned from his academic position in 1994 and moved to Tacoma, Washington. There he began research that resulted in Are Souls Real?, his first book. He plans to continue writing serious non-fiction from a scientific and skeptical perspective. Born in 1942, his main hobbies are reading, kayaking, and observing nature--from snails to galaxies.