To help solve a mystery for an episode of UFOs Declassified, show producers came to Trent University to speak with Dr. R. Bastian Georg, a senior research scientist at Trent’s world-class Water Quality Centre.
UFOs Declassified, a new documentary series that recently debuted on the History Channel, investigates former classified top secret files on unexplained UFO sightings and alien encounters, using hard scientific evidence to try to establish what really happened.
Dr. Georg is a specialist in the analysis of trace metal concentrations and isotopic ratios in environmental, biological, and geological samples. He was approached by the show’s producers to help identify two pieces of newly-found debris from an alleged UFO crash site.
“An initial analysis of the material indicated that magnesium was part of the chemical composition,” Dr. Georg explains. “Magnesium has three stable isotopes, whose proportion can potentially tell us whether the material is terrestrial or whether it comes from outer space.”
“The show’s producers hoped that measuring the isotope composition would prove whether or not the artifacts were of extraterrestrial origin,” Dr. Georg said. “They were aware that I have experience doing this type of research including the analysis of meteorites from space.”
The episode casts a spotlight on Trent’s acclaimed Water Quality Centre. “The Water Quality Centre has an impressive array of instruments that allowed us to do the very specific and very accurate analysis that was required,” Dr. Georg said, pointing out that the name of the centre is misleading because “we can analyze almost anything: rock samples, mineral samples, biological tissue samples, even meteorites.”
As for the results of his analysis, Dr. Georg is being coy. “I can tell you it’s not a soda or beer can, but whether or not it’s extraterrestrial, well, you’ll have to wait until the episode airs to find out.”
The UFOs Declassified episode featuring Dr. Georg and Trent University’s Water Quality Centre is scheduled to air on the History Channel at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, January 30.
Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2015.