IPS

[David@interworld.com (David Levine)]

This was posted recently on sci.space.tech.  I had mentioned
these guys back when we passed our one year anniversary.  At
the time their site was totally empty - no content at all.
I checked recently and there was still no real content, and
they're charging people for membership.  Anyway, for what
it's worth, here's what they posted.... (they've been
getting some good press... always makes me feel depressed...
you guys have been working so much for so long, and no
one knows...)

(BTW, Forward and Matloff are both in on this).

-----------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 
            Interstellar Propulsion Society 
       Date: 
            17 Mar 1996 06:51:15 GMT 
       From: 
            jhujsak@cts.com (John Hujsak)
Organization: 
            CTS Network Services 
 Newsgroups: 
            sci.space.shuttle, sci.space.tech, 
alt.starfleet.rpg, alt.startrek.creative, alt.startrek.klingon, 
aus.sf.star-trek,
            de.rec.sf.startrek, rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc


Interstellar Propulsion Society
Membership Division Announcement


In 1963, Dr. William Pickering, then President of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, predicted that a 
hundred
years hence humans will travel to other star systems at 
relativistic
velocities. More than thirty years have passed since Dr. 
Pickering's
affirmation and we are still far from achieving this lofty goal. 
Most
of the progress to date has been made by a relatively small 
group of
independent research scientists scattered around the world, 
working
largely in isolation.

The distances between stars are vast when compared to normal 
human
scales of measure. Our nearest stellar neighbor worthy of 
exploration,
Alpha Centauri, would take over 40 years to reach at a velocity 
of 10%
of the speed of light. Significant breakthroughs in physics and
technology are needed to reduce this transit time to the point 
where
the human race can begin exploration of our neighboring stellar
systems.

The Interstellar Propulsion Society was founded as a non-profit
organization with a single objective ... To accelerate 
scientific and
engineering advancements in space propulsion leading to robotic 
and
manned missions to other star systems at fractional light 
speeds,
relativistic velocities, and beyond. The Society has no other 
agenda.
Its sole purpose is to provide a medium for scientists and 
engineers
around the world to join in collaborative research efforts that 
advance
interstellar propulsion theory and technology.

The recent emergence of the  Internet, World Wide Web, digital 
library
systems, collaborative work tools and other related technologies 
now
provides the basis for constructing a worldwide research center 
in
cyberspace. Their wide availability and low cost enable 
participation
by research scientists with very modest means, located in 
distant
corners of the world. The Interstellar Propulsion Society is now
constructing this virtual research center.

The Society is supporting collaborative research through a 
number of
mechanisms:

* An on-line digital research library for consolidating the 
results from
  past and ongoing  research efforts

* A quarterly newsletter for distribution to all members

* A professional peer-review research journal

* A World Wide Web based newsgroup for Society members at all 
levels

* Participation in advanced propulsion studies with major 
centers
  such as NASA

* Collaborative research tools and support services to 
facilitate
  distributed projects conducted by Society members

* Society funded scientific research in high-risk, high-payoff
  areas

The Society is structured for three basic levels of 
participation, a
Professional class, a Patron class and a Corporate class. 
Professional
membership is designed for those who wish to participate toward 
the
Society's objectives through scientific and engineering 
contributions.
Patron membership is open to the general public, a worldwide
constituency that has a  high interest in the challenge of 
interstellar
travel and believes that one day it will happen. Corporate 
membership
is reserved for industries and institutions that are interested 
in
fostering the basic research that leads to the Society's 
objectives.

The Interstellar Propulsion Society is currently represented by 
eleven
different countries:

          - Argentina
          - Australia
          - Bahrain
          - Canada
          - Germany
          - Greece
          - Italy
          - Poland
          - Russia
          - United Kingdom
          - United States

Within the next near we hope to double this number.

The Interstellar Propulsion Society is now uniquely positioned 
to
continue the momentum of research in advanced space propulsion. 
The
realization of this depends on your participation. Please join 
us for a
year of exciting research and activities. The Society Web site 
is
located at:

          http://www.tyrian.com/IPS/

The site and all of its resources are open to the general 
public.

Application forms for membership at all levels can be downloaded 
from
the Society Web site. If you currently lack Web access you may 
email
your request to:

          IPSmembership@tyrian.com

or mail your request to:

Interstellar Propulsion Society
12675 Danielson Court, Suite 414
Poway, CA 92064
USA

Regards,


Jonathan T. Hujsak
President
Interstellar Propulsion Society

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IPS Organizational Structure

Dr. Dana Andrews -
        Boeing Defense and Space Group
Dr. James R. Arnold -
        University of California, San Diego
Dr. Stanley Borowski -
        NASA Lewis Research Center
Brice N. Cassenti -
        United technologies Research Center
Dr. Anton M. Chernenko -
        Space Research Institute (IKI), Russia
Dr. Robert L. Forward -
        Forward Unlimited
Dr. Nathan J. Hoffman -
        Energy Technology Engineering Center
Dr. Geoffrey Landis -
        Nyma Inc.
Dr. Michael R. LaPointe -
        Horizon Technologies Development Group
Dr. A.R. (Tony) Martin -
        AEA Technology, UK Professor
Greg Matloff -
        NYU
Dr. Franklin B. Mead, Jr. -
        Phillips Laboratory
Marc Millis -
        NASA/Lewis Research Center
Declan J. O'Donnell -
        Attorney at Law
Dr. Gerald A. Smith -
        Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Robert Zubrin -
        Martin Marietta Strategic Systems

Jonathan T. Hujsak, President
Douglas Tabor, Communications Dir.
Robert W. Ryan, Secretary & CFO
Dr. William P. Shine, Programs Dir.
Burton S. Brockett, Art & Graphics Dir.

Journal of the IPS:
        Editor in Chief: Marc Millis, NASA Lewis Research Center

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--
David Levine
Application Engineer
InterWorld Technology Ventures, Inc.
http://www.interworld.com/staff/david/
david@interworld.com