Hagelin, John Samuel (1954-…), a research scientist and educator, was a candidate for president of the United States in the 2000 election. However, he won less than 1 percent of the popular vote.
The Reform Party had split in two over its choice of candidates, and one faction nominated Hagelin. He was also the candidate of the Natural Law Party. Hagelin had been the Natural Law Party’s candidate in the 1992 and 1996 elections.
Hagelin has won international recognition for his research in the field of modern physics. As a presidential candidate, he argued that scientific principles and the common-sense approach of science could be used to solve society’s problems.
Hagelin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 9, 1954. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1975. He then attended Harvard University, earning a master’s degree in 1976 and a doctorate in nuclear physics in 1981. After leaving Harvard, Hagelin did scientific research at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, and then at the Linear Accelerator Center at Stanford University.
In 1984, he joined the faculty of Maharishi University of Management (now Maharishi International University) in Fairfield, Iowa, as a professor of physics and the director of the doctoral physics program. In 1992, he became the director of the Institute of Science, Technology, and Public Policy, a center for public policy study and research run by Maharishi University. The institute explores solutions to problems in such areas as crime prevention, education, the environment, and health care.
