in 1963, vallée relocated to chicago, illinois. he worked as a systems analyst at nearby northwestern university while continuing to pursue ufological research with his mentor, j. allen hynek, the chair of the university's astronomy department. during this period, he received a ph.d. in industrial engineering and computer science from the institution in 1967. thereafter, he was briefly employed by royal dutch shell (in paris) and the rca service company (in cherry hill, new jersey) as an engineer before joining the stanford university computer center as manager of information systems in 1969. in 1971, vallée transferred to applied physicist peter a. sturrock's plasma research institute as a computer specialist. upon learning that vallée had written several books about ufos, sturrock felt a professional obligation to peruse vallée's work, prompting his own research in the subject.