Ian Tresman
Ian Tresman | |
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| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of East Anglia University of Manchester |
| Known for | Plasma cosmology, Plasma Universe, modern catastrophism |
Ian Tresman is a British web publisher, author and information technology consultant known for his advocacy and popularisation of plasma cosmology and the "plasma universe" concept, and for his interest in modern catastrophism.
Biography
Tresman took a B.Sc. in chemical sciences at the University of East Anglia (1979–1982), followed by an M.Sc. in computer science at the University of Manchester (1982–1983). He later added a PGCE teaching qualification and a series of university certificates in astronomy and cosmology, including a certificate in radio astronomy associated with Jodrell Bank, culminating in a Certificate of Higher Education.
In November 1988 he founded Knowledge Computing, initially an information technology consultancy specialising in multilingual computing and training. Through the company he compiled and published The Multilingual PC Directory, a guide to multilingual software for the IBM PC, which appeared in several editions in the first half of the 1990s. In 1996 Knowledge Computing became one of the earlier British web publishing ventures, and the business has since also worked in 360-degree photography and virtual tours. Tresman is based in Cheshire, England.
Work
Tresman's scientific interests centre on plasma physics and its application to astronomy and cosmology — the view, associated with Hannes Alfvén and Anthony Peratt, that electromagnetic forces and plasma behaviour play a larger role in shaping cosmic structure than is generally allowed in conventional gravitational cosmology. He has maintained web resources devoted to the plasma universe and has published a Plasma Universe astronomy calendar illustrating plasma phenomena in space.
He is also a long-standing member of the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies and takes an interest in modern catastrophism, the field associated with Immanuel Velikovsky and Alfred de Grazia. In 2010–2011 he edited Quantavolution: Challenges to Conventional Science, a collection of essays produced as a festschrift for de Grazia, with contributions from a range of authors on catastrophist and heterodox scientific themes.
Books
- The Multilingual PC Directory (Knowledge Computing, editions from 1991)
- Plasma Universe 2008: Astronomy Calendar (Knowledge Computing, 2007)
- Quantavolution: Challenges to Conventional Science (editor; Metron Publications, 2010/2011)