What Is SRI?
SRI stands for Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) — an independent research center in Menlo Park, California that became the birthplace of the U.S. government’s classified remote viewing program in the early 1970s. SRI’s involvement in PSI (Parapsychological Phenomena) research represents one of the most significant intersections of mainstream scientific institutions and paranormal investigation in modern history.
The Remote Viewing Program
In 1972, physicists Russell Targ and Hal Puthoff at SRI began investigating claims of RV (Remote Viewing) — the ability to perceive distant locations using mental faculties alone. Their initial subject was Ingo Swann, a New York artist who demonstrated apparent psychic abilities under laboratory conditions. The results attracted the attention of the CIA, which provided funding for an expanded research program. This program eventually grew into Project Stargate, which operated under various code names and institutional homes from 1972 to 1995, with SRI serving as the primary research facility during its formative years.
Key Research
SRI’s PSI research produced several notable results. Controlled remote viewing experiments demonstrated hit rates above statistical chance across hundreds of trials. Operational remote viewing sessions reportedly produced intelligence used by government agencies. The development of Coordinate Remote Viewing (CRV) protocols by Ingo Swann at SRI established a structured methodology that is still practiced today. Research was also conducted into other PSI phenomena including psychokinesis and electromagnetic shielding experiments designed to test the physical parameters of anomalous perception.
The Debate
SRI’s PSI research was controversial from the outset. Critics within the scientific community questioned the experimental controls, suggested that sensory leakage or methodological flaws could account for positive results, and argued that the extraordinary nature of the claims demanded extraordinary evidence. Supporters pointed to the fact that intelligence agencies continued funding the program for over two decades — an unlikely outcome if it produced no useful results — and that multiple independent replications of remote viewing experiments had produced statistically significant results.
Legacy
The SRI remote viewing program’s legacy extends well beyond its operational period. It demonstrated that a major scientific research institution could study PSI phenomena using rigorous methodology. It produced a body of experimental data that continues to be cited in parapsychological literature. And the declassification of the Stargate program in 1995 brought unprecedented public awareness to government-funded PSI research, influencing both public perception and subsequent academic investigation of anomalous cognition.
Related Terms
SRI’s research is directly connected to RV (Remote Viewing), PSI (Parapsychological Phenomena), ESP (Extra-Sensory Perception), IRVA (International Remote Viewing Association), IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences), DOPS (Division of Perceptual Studies), and the broader history of government involvement in paranormal research including FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) disclosures.