This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Cold fusion was first discussed as early as 1926, but in the 1980s Utah became ground zero for cold fusion research.
1984 -- University of Utah's Stanley Pons and University of Southampton's Martin Fleischmann begin cold fusion research in Utah using an electrolytic cell.
1986 -- Jones reports to Department of Energy on cold fusion initiatives, and BYU builds its first cold fusion apparatus, a pressurized gas system.
September 1988 -- Jones is asked to review Pons' proposal for U.S. Department of Energy funding.
Feb. 23, 1989 -- Pons and Fleischmann go to BYU to speak with Jones about collaborating. Jones indicates he is ready to publish his cold fusion research. Joint publication is discussed.
March 6 -- Pons and Fleischmann return to BYU to discuss the matter. U. President Chase Peterson and BYU President Jeffrey Holland also present. Agreement is reached to jointly submit papers to the prestigious journal Nature on March 24.
March 11 -- Unbeknownst to Jones, Pons and Fleischmann submit paper to Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry.
March 21 -- U. decides to hold press conference, files cold fusion-related claims with U.S. Patent Office.
March 23 -- Pons and Fleischmann hold press conference at U.; U. Vice President for Research James Brophy claims he knows of no other groups doing similar research; Jones submits his paper to Nature; CBS Evening News leads off with announcement about the U.'s research.
March 24 -- Utah Gov. Norm Bangerter announces special legislative session to find state funding for fusion research. The state would later appropriate $5 million.
FUSION
May 1 -- American Physical Society meeting in Baltimore pans cold fusion evidence, an early indication the scientific community isn't buying in.
June 15 -- Britain's top laboratory, which had been unsuccessfully working on cold fusion experiments since March 13 with Fleischmann's help, halts its efforts.
Aug. 7 -- National Cold Fusion Institute opens in the University of Utah's Research Park.
Nov. 12 -- The U.S. Department of Energy cold fusion committee concludes that the research is unproven and not worth special funding.
March 28-30, 1990 -- U. hosts first annual cold fusion conference. Those scientists whose experiments dispute cold fusion are not invited.
May 31 -- Peterson acknowledges that $500,000 "anonymous" donation given to fusion research actually came from U.-controlled fund, producing faculty backlash. Ten days later, Peterson announces he will retire in a year, but says it was not due to cold fusion furor.
Jan. 8, 1991 -- Pons, who by that time had moved to southern France, announces resignation from tenured position at U.
June 28 -- After the state's $5 million is spent, National Cold Fusion Institute closes, having never duplicated the results claimed by Pons and Fleischmann. Patent claims are later transferred to a private company, but no patents have ever been granted.
Sources: Bruce Lewenstein, A Cold Fusion Chronology, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 1991; Salt Lake Tribune archive.