2024 AUI UAP Workshop

The 2024 AUI UAP Workshop, titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP): A Dialogue on Science, Public Engagement and Communication," was held May 15 to 17, 2024 by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), with Florida State University (FSU) co-leading, in Vienna, Virginia.¹ A second meeting, "2025 UAP Workshop: Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis," followed on August 5 and 6, 2025 at AUI, with the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) as sponsor. The 2025 invitation letter states that the 2025 event "builds upon a previous NSF-funded workshop held in 2024."²³

The National Science Foundation award

The 2024 workshop is attributed on its cover to "National Science Foundation, via ASTRO ACCEL; NSF Award #2301922." The National Science Foundation award database lists award 2301922 as "AccelNet-Implementation: The Global Network for Accelerating Synergies Through Research On Astronomy Culture, Communication, Education and Learning (ASTRO ACCEL)," made to Associated Universities, Inc. of Vienna, Virginia, under the AccelNet program of the Office of International Science and Engineering. The principal investigator is Tim Spuck (listed as Timothy Spuck); the co-principal investigators are Kelly Blumenthal, Gretchen Stahlman, Yasmin Catricheo and Tiffany Stone Wolbrecht. The record gives an initial award date of May 2, 2023, a start date of June 1, 2023, an expiration date of December 31, 2026 and a latest amendment date of December 2, 2025. Its funds-obligated field reads "FY 2023 = $1,615,193.00" and its estimated total amount reads 1,590,193. The program officer is listed as B. Jan Middendorf.⁴

The award abstract describes a network of networks on astronomy culture, communication, education and learning.⁴ The workshop's executive summary states: "In June 2023, the NSF awarded a $25,000 supplement to the original ASTRO ACCEL grant (#2301922) to host the UAP Workshop."⁵

The May 2024 workshop

The executive summary, version dated June 8, 2024, lists a planning committee of Amanda Barrera, Yasmin Catricheo and Anica Miller-Rushing of AUI; Saeed Salimpour of the International Astronomical Union; Tim Spuck, listed as "NSF/AUI"; and Gretchen Stahlman of FSU. The ASTRO ACCEL Core Organizing Group is listed as Amanda Barrera, Kelly Blumenthal, Nic Bonne, Yasmin Catricheo, Bret Feranchak, Anica Miller-Rushing, Saeed Salimpour, Gretchen Stahlman, Tim Spuck and Tiffany Stone Wolbrecht. The event was held at AUI's headquarters in Vienna, Virginia (the cover gives Suite 700, 2650 Park Tower Drive; the introduction places it in "the Washington, D.C. area"). The agenda lists a networking dinner on the evening of May 15; a first day on May 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with welcome remarks by Spuck, a session by Stahlman titled "UAP and Information," a breakout on the phases of information, a SETI panel, participant presentations and a breakout on educating about UAP; and a second day on May 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the Villarroel lecture and a third breakout with working-group action planning. Eleven participants gave short presentations in two one-hour slots.⁵

The summary lists as workshop participants "who explicitly agreed to be named": Jasodhara Bhattacharya (Independence Science); Laura Domine (Harvard University, Center for Astrophysics); Salman Hameed (Hampshire College / Kainaat Studios); Leslie Kean (Independent); Jill Malusky (National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Green Bank Observatory); Michael McConville (International Planetarium Society); Dean Miskovich (Oil Region Astronomical Society); Steven Mitchell (Green Bank Pictures and AUI); Demitri Muna (Nightlight Research); Vishnu Reddy (University of Arizona); Bri Rodriguez (Florida State University); Christian Stepien (National UFO Reporting Center); Dan Tell (California Academy of Sciences); Beatriz Villarroel (Nordita, Stockholm University); Diana Walsh Pasulka (University of North Carolina Wilmington); and Iya Whiteley (Center for Space Medicine, University College London).⁵

The summary states: "Twenty-five participants were selected and agreed to attend. Three additional guest presenters engaged in limited participation virtually. Six ASTRO ACCEL organizers participated and facilitated, and an NSF program officer attended as an observer but did not formally participate." Primary areas of expertise are tabulated as astronomy (seven), government (four), education (three), visualization (three) and one each in anthropology, aviation, data management, journalism, library and information science, media production, oceanography, psychology, public information, religious studies and sociology. Two virtual guests, Simon Steel and Bill Diamond, gave a one-hour panel on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence on Day 1, and Villarroel gave a 30-minute lecture on detecting anomalous observations in astronomical plates. Expressions of interest were accepted between March and May 2024; the workshop was not publicized beforehand; the guidelines for conduct urged participants "to avoid taking photos or attributing statements to individuals without permission"; and FSU provided Institutional Review Board approval.⁵

Pre-reads listed in the summary include the 2024 AARO historical record report, the Condon report, the 2017 The New York Times article by Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean, a 2024 Sol Foundation paper by Tim Gallaudet ("Beneath the Surface"), the Sol Foundation paper "UAP in Crowded Skies," the 2023 article by Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal in The Debrief, the 2023 NASA UAP independent study report, and the 2021 Office of the Director of National Intelligence preliminary assessment.⁵

Four working groups were proposed: curricular resources; a web portal; a citizen science application; and a follow-on event. The summary describes the application: "As an alternative to similar existing apps (such as Enigma Labs), this application would be citizen science oriented, not for profit, and open source." Enigma Labs describes itself as a "venture backed startup" and publishes the sightings app of that name.⁶ On the follow-on event the summary states: "A strong outcome of the workshop is a need for a follow-on event, ideally within six months," and the working group "began discussing how to fund and implement another workshop." Of 20 survey responses, 17 were "Very Satisfied." The summary lists integration into the ASTRO ACCEL Summit adjacent to the International Astronomical Union General Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa, August 3 to 5, 2024.⁵

Florida State's College of Communication and Information posted a release on June 5, 2024 stating that the workshop "took place May 16-17 in Washington D.C." and "brought together 28 participants including physical and social scientists, communication and media experts, educators, aviation specialists, and government representatives." Stahlman is quoted in it: "Whatever UAP are, it isn't good for any of us if pilots are afraid to report unusual observations in the sky." The release records one comment from the workshop, to "make UAPs boring," and Stahlman's statement that "there is tremendous interest in organizing a follow-up workshop in the coming months."⁷ The Society for UAP Studies later reported the 2024 meeting as May 15 to 16.⁸

Stahlman posted a paper on arXiv on March 22, 2024, "Closing the Information Gap in Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Studies," arXiv:2403.15368.⁹

The August 2025 workshop

The AARO paper "2025 UAP Workshop: Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis. Workshop Synthesis and Recommendations," bears the line "Workshop sponsored by: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)," the dates August 5 to 6, 2025, the venue "Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI)" and the document number 26-P-0344. Its executive summary states that the workshop "brought together 40 participants from government, academia, and independent research organizations," and the text adds: "Outside participation was limited due to budget constraints and institutional capacity." A pre-workshop social was held on the evening of August 4.²

The invitation letter, signed "On behalf of the Organizing Committee" by Gretchen Stahlman (FSU School of Information) and Tim Spuck (AUI), states: "A new collaboration between the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), and Florida State University (FSU) has convened to host the upcoming event on the topic of narrative data." It anticipated "a small group of 25-30 experts, including information and data science researchers and practitioners, and government stakeholders," offered lodging and most meals while stating "we are unable to compensate you for travel costs," and states that "all outcomes will be communicated promptly, publicly, and transparently." The guidelines for conduct state that the workshop would "NOT be focused on what UAP are or their origins." Attendees could choose name tags listing a first name with no institutional affiliation.²

The recommended next steps are standardized metadata templates; a hybrid of qualitative expertise and AI with human oversight; adaptation of tools from genetics, astronomy and digital archives; triage of reports; capture of narrative context through interviews and oral histories; preservation of historical reports; enhancement of public reporting portals; and further workshops. The breakout on cleaning, organizing and linking data analyzed "a hypothetical online reporting form that has collected 1,000 UAP reports stored as PDF files," and its suggestions include a schema linkable to FAA and NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System data and ADS-B flight tracks, and a field for whether the event was reported elsewhere, with NUFORC, MUFON and the FAA given as examples.²

The Society for UAP Studies published a report by Greg Bishop dated September 2, 2025 stating that AARO and AUI "convened a symposium at the AUI headquarters in Vienna, Virginia," that it was "the second in a series of AUI-hosted symposia," and that "AARO director Kosloski emphasized that the mission of his office is to study UAP as a potential deficit in 'domain awareness.'" The report identifies the director as Acting Director Dr. Jon T. Kosloski.⁸

On April 29, 2026 AUI's podcast "Beyond the Breakthrough" published an episode, "Making Sense of the Unknown," featuring Spuck (identified as director of education and public engagement at AUI) and Stahlman (assistant professor at Florida State). Its notes state: "the 2024 workshop, 'Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: A Dialogue on Science, Public Engagement and Communication' was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, award 2301922. The 2025 workshop, 'Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis' was supported by the U.S. All-domain Anomaly Office."¹⁰