as a book author in 1924, but The Ascent of Humanity, published in 1929, marked his first foray into public acclaim, as it received the British Academy's Hertz Prize. From 1930 to 1934, he served as a science and current-affairs commentator for the BBC. From 1932 to 1942, Heard was a council member of the Society for Psychical Research. Heard biographer Alison Falby writes, "Heard’s charisma developed over time, which may have shaped his belief that all humans have the capacity for psychological evolution." In 1929 Heard had his first, fateful encounter with Aldous Huxley, being introduced by the art critic Raymond Mortimer. They conversed at length on the occasion, and remained friends and mutual influences for decades. In 1931 Heard had initiated an informal research group to look into developing group-mindedness or group communications, which became known as The Engineers Study Group because several of its members were engineers who afterwards were involved in the early development of computers. Naomi Mitchison also participated actively in the group. After 1936, Heard broke with Mitchison over her outspoken support for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War and her attempt, together with other members of the group, to run arms to Republican Spain. In his last letter to Mitchison, Heard expressed his sympathy for the victims of the war in Spain but compared the taking of sides in a war to "The relatives of a patient suffering from a deadly disease believing that he is curable by a hedge doctor (...) I am convinced that the way civilization is going is fatal, and the usual remedies only inflame the disease". Meanwhile, Heard played a minor part in the development of the Peace Pledge Union. Heard became well known as an advocate for pacifism and argued for the transformation of behaviour through meditation and "disciplined nonviolence". In 1937 he emigrated to the United States to give some lectures at Duke University. Heard was accompanied by Aldous Huxley; Huxley's wife, Maria; and their son Matthew Huxley. In the United States, Heard's main activities were writing, lecturing, and the occasional radio or television appearance. He had developed an identity as an informed individual who recognised no intrinsic conflict among history, science, literature, and theology. Though he lectured at Duke, Heard turned down the offer of a post there and traveled west to settle in California. Heard was the first among a group of literati