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Jacques Vallée

French-born computer scientist and former astronomer, long-time UFO researcher and Hynek collaborator, now on the Sol Foundation's advisory board.

Current role: Advisory Board member, Sol Foundation; author and venture investor

Former roles:

  • General partner, Silicon Valley venture funds including Euro-America Ventures (1987–2010)
  • Staff engineer, ARPANET Network Information Center, SRI International (from 1971)
  • Astronomer, Paris Observatory (from 1961)

Background

Jacques Vallée, born in Pontoise, France, in 1939, began his career as an astronomer at the Paris Observatory in 1961 and worked on NASA's first detailed map of Mars at the University of Texas before taking a PhD in industrial engineering and computer science at Northwestern in 1967. There he worked closely with J. Allen Hynek, the astronomer who consulted for the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book, co-writing a 1966 journal article and the 1975 book The Edge of Reality. He later worked on the ARPANET Network Information Center at SRI International and spent two decades as a venture capitalist. His books, from Anatomy of a Phenomenon (1965) and Passport to Magonia (1969) onwards, shaped academic treatment of UFO reports, and he sits on the Advisory Board of the Sol Foundation, where he has been a speaker since its inaugural 2023 symposium. He divides his time between San Francisco and Paris.

On the record

  • 2025-10-25 – Sol Foundation Symposium, Lake Maggiore, Italy – presented "Haynesville 1966", a historical case study, followed by a Q&A. Agenda · Event page
  • 2023-11-17 – Sol Foundation inaugural symposium, Stanford – spoke on UAP, witnesses and scientific research, including his 1970s plasma research at Stanford with Peter Sturrock. As reported: "What's important is the other 2%.", "We don't have a precise enough idea, and we can't get it from official archives, secret or otherwise." and "No witness wants to be dismissed as a madman by a scientist, journalist or law officer." Sentinel write-up
  • 2022-01 – Progress in Aerospace Sciences – co-author with Garry Nolan on a peer-reviewed review of analytic techniques for unusual materials with potential aerospace-forensics relevance. Paper

Timeline of involvement

  • 1961 – joins the Paris Observatory as an astronomer
  • 1966 – co-authors a journal article with J. Allen Hynek; completes his Northwestern PhD in 1967
  • 1969 – publishes Passport to Magonia
  • 1975 – publishes The Invisible College and, with Hynek, The Edge of Reality
  • 2022-01 – co-authors the Nolan-led materials paper
  • 2023-11-17 – speaks at the Sol Foundation's inaugural symposium at Stanford
  • 2025-10-25 – presents "Haynesville 1966" at the Sol Foundation Symposium in Italy
  • 2026 – listed on the Sol Foundation Advisory Board; Forbidden Science volume 7 of his journals listed for publication (Wikipedia)

Part of the Key People in Disclosure series. Verified 2026-10-10. Spotted an error? Reach out.