In article <c0hrik$c4e$1@pencil.math.missouri.edu>, Isabel Ebert says...

----- Original Message -----
From: Global Network
To: Global Network Against Weapons
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 6:11 AM
Subject: E-BOMBS FUTURE FOR WEAPONRY

http://www.lobolink.com/news/603632.html?mkey=222479

E-Bombs future for weaponry

By Ryan Floersheim
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2004
The Daily Lobo (University of New Mexico)

ALBUQUERQUE: One UNM professor has been working quietly in a laboratory on
campus since
1988, trying to work out the kinks in the new microwave technology.

Edl Schamiloglu, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, has
received more than $12 million for his research on the high-powered
microwaves, called directed energy.

He said the intense waves of energy have countless real-world applications,
and one party interested in them is the Pentagon. In fact, a large portion
of his funding has come from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

It is that relationship with the military that has earned Schamiloglu more
than his share of media attention lately.

In 2003, articles regarding the potential military uses of the microwave
technology sprung up in national publications such as The New York Times and
the Washington Post.

Schamiloglu admitted the technology can and may already be used in special
microwave weapons that detonate near a target, and with their blasts of
electromagnetic waves, melt communications circuitry without harming nearby
humans.

"However, a lot of what we do just goes to support science and engineering
education," he said. "Most people just assume that when research is
supported by the federal government that it is going toward the military."

However, the Defense Department is already using his research to develop
such weapons, he said.

"When the DOD supports a research project, it usually means they have plans
for it down the road," Schamiloglu said.

The microwave research at UNM is closely linked to the Air Force's Research
Laboratory at neighboring Kirtland Air Force Base, Schamiloglu said.

The lab is the Pentagon's center for research on microwave weapons, more
commonly called E-Bombs.

The military presence on UNM's campus, regardless of its purpose, has drawn
criticism and protest from many people in the community.

"All these programs are basically the public subsidizing this country's
military war machine," said Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network
Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, a national coalition opposed to
nuclear research. "It is ironic that the words humane and weapons are in the
same sentence."

Gagnon said it is ethically and morally wrong to develop weapons on college
campuses, regardless of what kind they are.

Schamiloglu is not the only UNM researcher whose work goes to furthering the
military's technological goals.

Mohamed El-Genk, a professor of chemical and nuclear engineering, has had a
hand in the development of the Air Force's Prometheus nuclear rocket
project, according to national news releases.

Gagnon, the global network and protesters from across the world are in town
this week to ask El-Genk and other nuclear researchers attending an annual
nuclear symposium here to reconsider their work.

El-Genk could not be reached for comment.

"Bringing in profit at the expense of killing people is not what higher
education is supposed to be about," said Bob Anderson, an adjunct professor
at UNM, about the weapons research on campus. "The University is trying to
increase its military contracts. There are more honorable ways to make
money."

Still, Schamiloglu said his research with the microwave technology can be
used for many things other than the military.

He said since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. officials have
realized just how vulnerable the country's citizens are to similar weapons.

While the microwave technology itself is very complex, Schamiloglu said it
is possible for terrorist groups to construct a crude electromagnetic bomb
capable of crippling the country's communications network.

"We are at the forefront of knowledge," he said. "As always, that knowledge
can be used for both good and evil purposes. We have to do our job the best
we can and realize that we are just a small part of a bigger picture."

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 729-0517
(207) 319-2017 (Cell Phone)
http://www.space4peace.org
globalnet@mindspring.com