William (Bill) F. Bengston, SSE’s President from 2010 until 2022, passed away peacefully at his home on April 16, 2025, at the age of 75 surrounded by family.  He is survived by his wife Margaret, his two children Brian & Elizabeth along with their spouses, four grandchildren, as well as his brother and sister.

Bill was a man of immense humor, curiosity and intelligence who loved his family dearly.  He was a professor of statistics and research methods at St. Joseph’s University for 40 years, a researcher, and an author.  He had so many passions — he loved music, he loved to play tennis and table tennis, he swam competitively, he loved to sail, and he dedicated a lot of time to his community as a library and school board member.

His healing research produced the first successful full cures of transplanted mammary cancer and methylcholantrene- induced sarcomas in experimental mice with the hands-on technique that he helped develop. Mice that had successful full cures also had no recurrences of the same cancer. His research continued over forty plus years, and he has numerous peer reviewed academic publications.  His memoir, The Energy Cure, is published by Sounds True Publishers.  He has also lectured widely in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Bill also investigated assorted correlates to healing such as EEG and fMRI entrainment, and geomagnetic micropulsation anomalies in healing space.  His current work involved the attempt to reverse engineer healing and reproduce healing without the healer, and to develop therapies that can be scaled.

Bill’s impact went beyond his healing research as a mentor and inspiration to many members of SSE and beyond.   Some members of the SSE Council share their thoughts on Bill’s impact.

Bill was such an important figure within SSE; his early studies on healing were a landmark and encouraged me to carry on my own research into healing, and I do hope his ideas will find successors among the younger generation. 

-- Harald Walach

What a loss! Bill was always a positive spirit, and optimistic in his whimsical way. It’s a sad irony that he passed away having healed so many others from similar conditions.

Years ago, I suspected that Bill would be an excellent SSE president and asked him to serve as the program chair for an annual SSE meeting in a ploy to launch him into SSE leadership. He took the bait, became program chair and then succeeded me as SSE president, serving for multiple terms. In our often-chaotic organization, he was always the voice of reason, cajoling the organization over endless hurdles with wit and charm. I always enjoyed our many phone conversations working through ways to improve the organization and appreciated Margaret’s warm support along the way.

The SSE will always be my home, but for me, without Bill it will always feel a little empty. We will all miss him.

-- Garret Moddel

Of the 25 healers I have worked with in experiments, Bill was extraordinary in his ability to alter reality - with love and abundance as his guide – always wanting to heal all the mice, both control and experimental groups, no matter if it messed up the experiment!  While trying to measure infrasound during one of his healings, he placed his hands on my shoulders, and I felt a distinct “love” vibration. It did not produce any sound, but it remains a scientific challenge for us to detect the energy of healers like Bill.

-- Margaret Moga

Witty, relatable, and one of the best science communicators I've seen. He was an inspiration as an accomplished researcher, practitioner, and consummate facilitator and collaborator. His many years of dedicated service to the field more broadly, especially via the SSE, was instrumental in paving the way for junior researchers such as myself.  

He will be very sorely missed.

-- Damon Abraham

Three things profoundly altered my understanding and view of the world and life itself. The first was a book;   AFTERWARDS YOU’RE A GENIUS   by Chip Brown, who used a quote by SSE member Dean Radin as its title; the second was a society, the SSE of course, which I discovered indirectly as a result of having read the book and the third was one man, Bill Bengston, with whom I became acquainted at my second SSE meeting at La Jolla in 2001.

Unlike some other attendees, I was convinced immediately that Bill and his discoveries were the real deal and that he was genuinely on to something – something real that he could describe and replicate -  but also something that himself did not really understand. Bill’s sense of humor and iconoclastic delivery style that day, interjected his special levity, making his presentation that much more compelling.  The levity which was Bill’s hallmark made open-minded discussions and debate easy, entertaining and delightful.

It seems very strange to think of or refer to Bill in the past tense, because whenever I think of him or his ideas or my memories of him or numerous conversations I had with him, they still seem very clear and fresh, something I cannot imagine ever changing. So, to Bill to “The Mouse Healer” to a friend and kindred spirit I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to you and for your role in helping me and surely many others discover our own paths and truths in medicine, science and life. Your efforts are remembered and will not be forgotten.

Thank you, Bill!

-- Carl G. Medwedeff

In lieu of sending flowers, the family asks you to please consider donating to the Society for Scientific Exploration  https://scientificexploration.org/Donate