On September 11, 2007, the BBC published an article called "9/11 demolition theory challenged", which described a research paper written by University of Cambridge senior lecturer Keith Seffen.

Dr. Seffen, the BBC said, had constructed a mathematical model of the World Trade Center collapses which showed that

once the collapse of the twin towers began, it was destined to be rapid and total.

According to the BBC, Dr. Seffen proceeded from this mathematical model to describe the destruction of the twin towers as

a "very ordinary thing to happen".

The BBC also reported that Dr. Seffen's findings

are published in the Journal of Engineering Mechanics.

The Journal of Engineering Mechanics (JEM) is a monthly publication of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). A search of the ASCE website turned up no mention of a Keith Seffen, nor any mention of any "Seffen".

I wrote a brief item about this on the morning of September 11th.

UK Engineer: WTC 'Collapses' Were 'A Very Ordinary Thing'

Shortly after it was published, the BBC page was changed to say that that Dr. Seffen's findings

are to be published in the Journal of Engineering Mechanics.

I noted the change in an update to my item, where I also provided a link to a mirror of the original text.

I also noticed the distinctive smell of manure. So I kept digging.

It was obvious that the BBC piece was based on a press release from Cambridge, which said (in the opening paragraph) that Dr. Seffen's findings were "published", and (much later) that they were "to be published".

Apparently this self-contradiction didn't raise any eyebrows. But it was not the only problem with the press release.

Virtually every paragraph was either misleading or downright false. And it showed very clearly that Seffen's approach was not scientific, but political. I wrote about that, too.

Bad Science: Keith Seffen And The WTC 'Collapse'

Nearly eight weeks later, I posted a compendium of the coverage Seffen and his paper had received, noting that it had been largely uncritical but remarkably sparse.

Seffen's Folly: Attempted 9/11 Hoax By Cambridge And The BBC Was A Failure

The following day I noted some of the many unanswered questions and documented a series of requests for clarification which had been ignored by Dr. Seffen and by Dr. Ross Corotis, the editor of the JEM.

Where's The Paper? Did The BBC And A Cambridge Don Commit Fraud To Cover Up Mass Murder?

Several readers of the latter two stories joined in the effort to obtain further information. Some of them had academic credentials, and their requests stirred Dr. Corotis to action.

Shortly thereafter, I was pleased to report on communication from the ASCE, saying that according to their records, Dr. Seffen's paper is scheduled for publication in the February 2008 JEM.

WTC 'Collapse' Research Cited In September Is Scheduled To Be Published In February

This was good news for two reasons. It marked the first public commitment from the ASCE to publish the paper. And it provided confirmation of the fact that the paper had not been published when it was cited (and referred to as published) by the BBC and others.

Finally, another reader — one with even more impressive credentials — started digging in a different place, and unearthed a copy of the paper.

Would you like to read it? You don't have to wait till February!

I've posted the first few pages of it (in HTML) on my website, and there's also a link from which you can download the entire paper (a small PDF file).

Introducing Keith Seffen's "Progressive Collapse Of The WTC: A Simple Analysis"