All That Glitters...

Bockris, who retired a few years ago as professor emeritus of chemistry, could not be reached for comment. Champion and his four-person Internet "crew" did not respond to e-mails from the Houston Press.

Harlan Sanders, who documents the various claims of "armchair researchers" at her Web site, NuScam.com, says most people she knows "have no idea what to make of the research and are mostly undecided on an opinion."

Jerry Decker, an energy researcher who runs an on-line discussion group called Keelynet, says he used to attend conferences on transmutation, hosted by Bockris.

"They were wonderful, private, invitation-only affairs," Decker said in an e-mail. "Dr. Bockris told me although he found cold fusion, with its attendant production of anomalous heat interesting, if he had the funding, he would like to spend the rest of his life studying transmutation."

Decker says he never met Champion, but has spoken with him by phone and exchanged e-mails with him. Though people are wary of the former convict, Champion "is a most interesting fellow" with a story that, for centuries now, has never failed to intrigue.

"The jail thing definitely hurt his reputation," Decker says. "But I think he will recover."