The Center for UFO Studies, the second largest
UFO group in the United States. In my opinion, CUFOS is a mostly respectable
scientific organization, a rarity in the
ufological world. The purpose of the group is to promote serious scientific interest in the UFO
phenomenon, as well as to gather, organize, and analyze
information regarding UFOs.
CUFOS was founded by Dr. J. Allen Hynek in 1973. His intention was to create a "private, scientific UFO organization composed of scientists and other highly-trained technical experts, who would work together to solve the UFO enigma." Hynek served as scientific director of the organiztion until his death in 1986, when Mark Rodeghier took over the job.
The organization focuses its energies on three activities. First is collection of UFO-related materials, such as books, documents, case studies, eyewitness accounts, and articles. Second is publishing. CUFOS publishes the quarterly magazine International UFO Reporter and the annual Journal of UFO Studies, in addition to books and studies. Thirdly, the center supports UFO investigations and conducts its own independent research. It maintains a huge database of UFO reports known as UFOCAT which is available for purchase on Windows CD-ROM. CUFOS has a website at http://www.cufos.org/