PUHARICH, Andrija
Puharich, Andrija (b. Feb. 19, 1918, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. Jan. 3, 1995, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., U.S.), American physician and inventor, conducted CIA-funded parapsychology research during the Cold War, was an early and influential promoter of self-described psychic Uri Geller, and organized the channeling sessions that produced the claimed Council of Nine communications.
Serbian-American inventor, researcher, and entrepreneur who investigated the relationship between consciousness, psychic phenomena, and electromagnetic fields, claiming to have developed technologies for enhancing human psychic abilities and communicating with non-physical entities. Puharich earned a medical degree from Northwestern University and combined conventional scientific training with research into parapsychology and alternative healing methods.
Puharich gained attention in the 1950s and 1960s for his work with psychic subjects, particularly Dutch-born Peter Hurkos and Israeli Uri Geller, whom he helped bring to international prominence. He claimed that certain individuals possessed extraordinary psychic abilities that could be measured and enhanced through technological means, including electromagnetic field manipulation and specific frequencies that allegedly activated dormant brain regions.
His research interests included telepathy, precognition, psychokinesis, and what he termed “psychic surgery”—alleged healing techniques that appeared to involve the removal of diseased tissue without conventional surgical tools. Puharich studied shamanic practices, investigated the psychoactive properties of various substances, and claimed to have developed electronic devices that could amplify psychic abilities or facilitate communication with non-human intelligences.
Mainstream scientists have generally rejected Puharich’s claims about psychic phenomena and his technological applications, citing lack of reproducible evidence under controlled conditions. However, his work influenced the development of parapsychology as a field and contributed to government interest in psychic research during the Cold War. His investigations into electromagnetic effects on consciousness have found some support in neuroscience research, though his more exotic claims remain unsubstantiated by scientific consensus.