Targ, Russell (1934-)

Physicist with parapsychological interests. He was born on April 11, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at Queens College, New York (B.S., physics, 1954) and completed his graduate study in physics at Columbia University. He worked through the 1960s as a senior physicist (plasma and microwaves) at Technical Research Group, Syosset, Long Island, New York.

In 1972 he entered Stanford Research Institute as a senior research physicist, where he collaborated with Harold E. Puthoff on parapsychological research. Their work on remote viewing (a form of clairvoyance) became well known in 1977 when they published Mind Reach; in this publication they argued for the reality of psychical phenomena. Even earlier on, their work had become controversial because of their experiments with metal-bending attempted by psychic Uri Geller. He and Targ left SRI in 1982 to become partners in Delphi Associates, which attempted to use psychic phenomena for commercial purposes, including predictions of changes in silver prices. He has become president of Bay Research Institute and a staff scientist at Lockheed Research and Development.

Sources:

Berger, Arthur S., and Joyce Berger. The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research. New York: Paragon House, 1991.

Pleasants, Helene, ed. Biographical Dictionary of Parapsychology. New York: Helix Press, 1964.

Puthoff, Harold E., and Russell Targ. Mind-Reach: Scientists Look at Psychic Ability. New York: Delacorte Press, 1977.

Targ, Russell. The Mind Race: Understanding and Using Psychic Abilities. New York: Villard Books, 1984.

Targ, Russel, and Harold E. Puthoff. "ESP Experiments with Uri Geller." In Research in Parapsychology 1973. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1974.

——. "Information Transmission under Conditions of Sensory Shielding." Nature (October 1974).

——. "PK Experiments with Uri Geller and Ingo Swann." In Research in Parapsychology 1973. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1974.

Targ, Russel, Harold E. Puttoff, and Charles T. Tart. Mind at Large. New York: Praeger, 1979.