Paul A. Kossey

Paul Kossey was born September 18, 1938 in Pittsburgh, PA and lived with his family in the rural "hill towns" of Western Pennsylvania before attending the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a PhD in electrical engineering in 1967. After a commission in the Reserve Officer Training Corps during college, he entered the Air Force and was assigned to the research lab at the Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, MA. In 1971 he joined the civil service as a research engineer in the Ionospheric Physics branch, where he began a long career focused on studying very low frequency (VLF) radio waves. He accumulated two patents, several Air Force Scientific Achievement Awards, and was the author or co-author of over forty scientific papers. He was also a U.S. representative on multiple international collaborations, including the NATO Sensors and Propagation Panel (AGARD).

The crowning achievement of Paul's career was the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), a joint Air Force-Navy program to develop a world class research facility to investigate the effects of high power radio waves on the ionosphere. The government collaborated with the University of Alaska as well as researchers from other institutions around the world. Paul served as the Air Force research project manager, building years-long collaborations and friendships in the process.

Paul led a full life and had many strong interests. In his 20s, he bought his first painting, and throughout the rest of his life he "scrounged" at art and antique stores and shows, art auctions, and later, all over the Internet for art, particularly 19th century American paintings. An avid reader and researcher, he also developed an extensive private library on art, artists, and art history, and he enjoyed sharing his ideas and discoveries with fellow art lovers and collectors. After retiring from the Air Force, he published two articles in Antiques Magazine about important "finds" from his hunts. He also started working on an unfinished piece he titled "Tales of an Art Scrounger".

Paul was active in other areas as well. He kept up with daily reading on the status of the arts and sciences and US and foreign affairs. He enjoyed sports. He met his wife of 47 years on the tennis court, where he had a wicked lefty spin serve. In the 70s and 80s, he was an active member of the Lexington Tennis Association, and he was a long-time trustee member of his neighborhood tennis club. He was also an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. In his youth, he played the trumpet and developed a knowledge and love for classical music, especially opera. He continued to write in his retirement, and he privately created a collection of stories based on the bedtime stories he told his son about a group of characters that lived in an imaginary place called Wolfland.

Paul passed away on October 22, 2025. He was a dedicated husband, father and brother. He leaves behind his wife, Kathy, his son, Alexander, and his two brothers, John and David.