JASON is an independent group of elite scientists which
advises the United States Los Alamos
and MIT Radiation Laboratory alumni—involved in advising the government. It was
established in 1960 and has somewhere between 30 and 60 members. Its work first
gained public notoriety as the source of the Vietnam War's McNamara Line electronic
barrier. Although most of its research is military-focused, JASON also produced
early work on the science of global warming and acid rain. Current unclassified
research interests include health informatics, cyberwarfare, and renewable
energy.
For administrative purposes, JASON's activities are run through the MITRE Corporation, a non-profit corporation inMcLean , Virginia ,
which operates seven Federally Funded Research and Development
Centers (FFRDCs) for the Federal
Government of the United
States
JASON typically performs most of its work during an annual summer study. Its sponsors include the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the U.S. Intelligence Community. Most of the resulting JASON reports are classified.
The name "JASON" is sometimes explained as an acronym, standing either for "July August September October November", the months in which the group would typically meet; or, tongue in cheek, for "Junior Achiever, Somewhat Older Now". However, neither explanation is correct; in fact, the name is not an acronym at all. It is a reference to Jason, a character from Greek mythology. The wife of one of the founders (Mildred Goldberger) thought the name given by the defense department, Project Sunrise, was unimaginative and suggested the group be named for a hero and his search.
JASON studies have included a now-mothballed system for communicating with submarines using extremely long radio waves (Project Seafarer, Project Sanguine), an astronomical technique for overcoming the atmosphere's distortion (adaptive optics), the many problems of missile defense, technologies for verifying compliance with treaties banning nuclear tests, a 1979 report describing CO2-driven global warming, and the McNamara Line's electronic barrier, a system of computer-linked sensors developed during the Vietnam War which became the precursor to the modern electronic battlefield.
JASON members, known informally as "Jasons," include physicists, biologists, chemists, oceanographers, mathematicians, and computer scientists, predominated by theoretical physicists. They are selected by current members, and, over the years, have included eleven Nobel Prize laureates and several dozen members of the United States National Academy of Sciences. All members have a wide-range of security clearances that allow them to do their work.
The founders of JASON include John Wheeler and Charles H. Townes. Other early members included Murray Gell-Mann, S. Courtenay Wright, Robert Gomer, Walter Munk, Murph Goldberger, Hans Bethe, Nick Christofilos, Fred Zachariasen, Marshall Rosenbluth, Ed Frieman, Hal Lewis, Sam Treiman, Conrad Longmire, Steven Weinberg, Roger Dashen, and Freeman Dyson.
Some additional Nobel Prize-winning members of JASON include Donald Glaser, Val Fitch, Murray Gell-Mann, Luis Walter Alvarez, Henry Way Kendall, and Steven Weinberg.
In April 2019, Jason lost its contract with the Department of Defense. On 28 March, Representative Jim Cooper (D–TN), who chairs the strategic forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, revealed that the MITRE Corporation, a nonprofit based in Mclean, Virginia, that manages the Jason contract, received a letter from the Department of Defense ordering it to close up shop by 30 April.
However, on 25 April 2019 the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Department of Energy offered the group an 8 month contract that would continue to employ JASON. JASON has yet to accept the offer which would temporarily save them from disbandment.
JASON Activities
For administrative purposes, JASON's activities are run through the MITRE Corporation, a non-profit corporation in
JASON typically performs most of its work during an annual summer study. Its sponsors include the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the U.S. Intelligence Community. Most of the resulting JASON reports are classified.
The name "JASON" is sometimes explained as an acronym, standing either for "July August September October November", the months in which the group would typically meet; or, tongue in cheek, for "Junior Achiever, Somewhat Older Now". However, neither explanation is correct; in fact, the name is not an acronym at all. It is a reference to Jason, a character from Greek mythology. The wife of one of the founders (Mildred Goldberger) thought the name given by the defense department, Project Sunrise, was unimaginative and suggested the group be named for a hero and his search.
JASON studies have included a now-mothballed system for communicating with submarines using extremely long radio waves (Project Seafarer, Project Sanguine), an astronomical technique for overcoming the atmosphere's distortion (adaptive optics), the many problems of missile defense, technologies for verifying compliance with treaties banning nuclear tests, a 1979 report describing CO2-driven global warming, and the McNamara Line's electronic barrier, a system of computer-linked sensors developed during the Vietnam War which became the precursor to the modern electronic battlefield.
JASON Membership
JASON members, known informally as "Jasons," include physicists, biologists, chemists, oceanographers, mathematicians, and computer scientists, predominated by theoretical physicists. They are selected by current members, and, over the years, have included eleven Nobel Prize laureates and several dozen members of the United States National Academy of Sciences. All members have a wide-range of security clearances that allow them to do their work.
The founders of JASON include John Wheeler and Charles H. Townes. Other early members included Murray Gell-Mann, S. Courtenay Wright, Robert Gomer, Walter Munk, Murph Goldberger, Hans Bethe, Nick Christofilos, Fred Zachariasen, Marshall Rosenbluth, Ed Frieman, Hal Lewis, Sam Treiman, Conrad Longmire, Steven Weinberg, Roger Dashen, and Freeman Dyson.
Some additional Nobel Prize-winning members of JASON include Donald Glaser, Val Fitch, Murray Gell-Mann, Luis Walter Alvarez, Henry Way Kendall, and Steven Weinberg.
Chairmen (in chronological
order)
- Marvin Leonard Goldberger (1960-1966)
- Harold Lewis (1966-1973)
- Kenneth Watson
- Edward A. Frieman
- Richard Garwin
- William Nierenberg
- William Happer (1987-1990)
- Curtis Callan (1990-1995)
- William H. Press (1995-1998)
- Steven Koonin
- Roy Schwitters (2005-2011)
- Gerald Joyce (2011-2014)
- Russell J. Hemley (2014-)
Loss of Contract
In April 2019, Jason lost its contract with the Department of Defense. On 28 March, Representative Jim Cooper (D–TN), who chairs the strategic forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, revealed that the MITRE Corporation, a nonprofit based in Mclean, Virginia, that manages the Jason contract, received a letter from the Department of Defense ordering it to close up shop by 30 April.
However, on 25 April 2019 the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Department of Energy offered the group an 8 month contract that would continue to employ JASON. JASON has yet to accept the offer which would temporarily save them from disbandment.
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