Mapping the surface of Mars for NASA in 1963 established a technical trajectory that led Jacques Vallée from astronomical observations in Pontoise to the development of the ARPANET. His career spans the transition from mainframe computation to the venture capital structures defining Silicon Valley, all while maintaining a consistent focus on the analysis of unidentified anomalous phenomena.
Early Academic and Scientific Foundations
Born in 1939 in Pontoise, France, Vallée completed his undergraduate studies in mathematics at the University of Paris by 1959. He earned the equivalent of a Master of Science in astrophysics from the University of Lille in 1961. That same year, he began his professional tenure at the Paris Observatory and secured the Prix Jules-Verne for his science fiction novel Le Sub-espace, written under the pseudonym Jérôme Sériel. His relocation to the United States in 1962 initiated a collaborative period at the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked with Gérard de Vaucouleurs to produce detailed planetary maps.
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Following a move to Chicago in 1963, Vallée attended Northwestern University, where he earned a PhD in computer science and industrial engineering in 1967. His transition into systems analysis and early artificial intelligence research eventually led to his role as manager of information systems at the Stanford University Computer Center. In 1971, he joined the Augmentation Research Center to work on the ARPANET. He later served as a principal investigator for the National Science Foundation, developing the PLANET conferencing system at the Institute for the Future. This work provided a technological basis for his own company, InfoMedia, founded in 1976.
Venture Capital and Financial Management
Vallée entered the venture capital industry in 1983 as a partner at Sofinnova. Between 1987 and 2010, he operated as a general partner for multiple funds, including the Euro-America Ventures family. As an executive manager at Documatica Financial in San Francisco, he oversaw early-stage financing for numerous technology and healthcare entities. His portfolio included firms such as Accuray, NeoPhotonics, and various others that achieved initial public offerings or were acquired by corporations including Intel, Cisco, and Lucent.
Theories on Anomalous Phenomena
Vallée's interest in unidentified flying objects began after a sighting in 1955. His research initially explored the extraterrestrial hypothesis, but he eventually pivoted toward a multidimensional visitation theory. He argued that the extraterrestrial model was insufficient to account for the breadth of historical data involving religious movements, folklore, and psychic phenomena. His investigations are documented in works including The Invisible College, Passport to Magonia, and Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults.
Fast facts
- Born: 1939, Pontoise, France
- PhD: Computer Science, Northwestern University
- Notable Award: Prix Jules-Verne (1961)
- Significant Early Project: First computerized map of Mars (1963)
- Technology Contributions: PLANET conferencing system
- Citizenship: France and United States
- Primary Fields: Computer science, astrophysics, venture capital
Questions readers ask
What was the significance of the PLANET system?
Developed while Vallée worked at the Institute for the Future, the PLANET system was one of the first ARPANET conferencing platforms and served as a functional precursor to modern instant messaging.
Why did Vallée move away from the extraterrestrial hypothesis for UFOs?
He concluded that the extraterrestrial hypothesis was too restrictive, leading him to propose an interdimensional hypothesis that links UFO sightings to historical folklore, religious events, and psychic phenomena.
Achievements
- Notable work: Passport to Magonia
- Notable work: Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults
- Notable work: Alien Contact Trilogy
- Notable work: The Invisible College
- Educated at University of Paris, University of Lille and Northwestern University
- Worked as astronomer, computer scientist and astrophysicist
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