JASON Defense Advisory Group
Encyclopedia
JASON is an independent group of scientists which advises the United States government
on matters of science and technology. The group was first created as a way to get a younger generation of scientists—that is, not the older 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.
Corporation, a non-profit corporation in McLean, Virginia
, which contracts with the Defense Department
.
JASON typically performs most of its work during an annual summer study. Its sponsors include the Department of Defense (frequently DARPA and the United States Navy
), 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 1982 report predicting CO2-driven global warming
, and a system of computer-linked sensors developed during the Vietnam War which became the precursor to the modern electronic battlefield.
s, and they include physicists, biologists, chemists, oceanographers, mathematicians, and computer scientists. They are selected for their scientific brilliance, and, over the years, have included eleven Nobel Prize
laureates and several dozen members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
.
Rush Holt
of New Jersey—funding was subsequently secured from an office higher in the defense hierarchy, the office of the Director, Defense Research & Engineering
, name changed to Assistant Secretary of Defense (Research & Engineering) (ASD (R&E)) in 2011 see http://www.acq.osd.mil/ddre/.
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
on matters of science and technology. The group was first created as a way to get a younger generation of scientists—that is, not the older Los Alamos
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
and MIT Radiation Laboratory
Radiation Laboratory
The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts and functioned from October 1940 until December 31, 1945...
alumni—involved in advising the government. It was established in 1960 and has somewhere between 30 and 60 members.
Activities
For administrative purposes, JASON's activities are run through the MITREMITRE
The Mitre Corporation is a not-for-profit organization based in Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia...
Corporation, a non-profit corporation in McLean, Virginia
McLean, Virginia
McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
, which contracts with the Defense Department
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
.
JASON typically performs most of its work during an annual summer study. Its sponsors include the Department of Defense (frequently DARPA and the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
), the Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
, 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
Jason
Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...
, a character from Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. 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
Project Sanguine
Project Sanguine was a project to research a system for communicating with submarines using extremely long radio waves.-References and external articles:* James R. Wait, Project Sanguine. Science, 1972....
), an astronomical technique for overcoming the atmosphere's distortion (adaptive optics
Adaptive optics
Adaptive optics is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effect of wavefront distortions. It is used in astronomical telescopes and laser communication systems to remove the effects of atmospheric distortion, and in retinal imaging systems to reduce the...
), the many problems of missile defense, technologies for verifying compliance with treaties banning nuclear tests, a 1982 report predicting CO2-driven global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, and a system of computer-linked sensors developed during the Vietnam War which became the precursor to the modern electronic battlefield.
Membership
JASON members all have security clearanceSecurity clearance
A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information, i.e., state secrets, or to restricted areas after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is also sometimes used in private organizations that have a formal...
s, and they include physicists, biologists, chemists, oceanographers, mathematicians, and computer scientists. They are selected for their scientific brilliance, and, over the years, have included eleven Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureates and several dozen members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
.
Recent history
In 2002, DARPA decided to cut its ties with JASON. DARPA had not only been one of JASON's primary sponsors, it was also the channel through which JASON received funding from other sponsors. DARPA's decision came after JASON's refusal to allow DARPA to select three new JASON members. Since JASON's inception, new members have always been selected by its existing members. After much negotiation and letter-writing—including a letter by CongressmanUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Rush Holt
Rush D. Holt, Jr.
Rush Dew Holt, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is currently the only Quaker in Congress.-Early life and education :Rush D. Holt was born to Rush D...
of New Jersey—funding was subsequently secured from an office higher in the defense hierarchy, the office of the Director, Defense Research & Engineering
Director of Defense Research and Engineering
The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering ASD is a senior official of the United States Department of Defense. The ASD and the office s/he heads are charged with the development and oversight of DoD technology strategy for the DoD. The ASD reports to the Under Secretary of...
, name changed to Assistant Secretary of Defense (Research & Engineering) (ASD (R&E)) in 2011 see http://www.acq.osd.mil/ddre/.
Research
JASON studies include:- The $100 Genome: Implications for the DoD. (November 2010, JSR-10-100)
- Science of Cyber-Security, (November 2010, JSR-10-102)
- High Frequency Gravitational Waves, (October 2008; JSR-08-506)
- Human Performance, (March 2008; JSR-07-625)
- Wind Farms and Radar, (January 2008; JSR-08-125)
- Navy Ship Underwater Shock Prediction and Testing Capability Study, (October 2007; JSR-07-200)
- Reliable Replacement Warhead Executive Summary, (September 2007; JSR-07-336E)
- Pit Lifetime, (January 2007; JSR-06-335)
- DAHRT, (October 2006; JSR-06-330)
- Engineering Microorganisms for Energy Production, (June 2006; JSR-05-300)
- Reducing DoD Fossil-Fuel Dependence, (September 2006; JSR-06-135)
- NIFNational Ignition FacilityThe National Ignition Facility, or NIF is a large, laser-based inertial confinement fusion research device located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. NIF uses powerful lasers to heat and compress a small amount of hydrogen fuel to the point where nuclear fusion...
Ignition (June 2005; JSR-05-340) - Tactical Infrasound (May 2005; JSR-03-520)
- Quantifications of Margins and Uncertainties, (March 2005; JSR-04-330)
- High Performance Biocomputation (March 2005; JSR-04-300)
- Sensors to Support the Soldier (Feb. 2005; JSR-04-210)
- Horizontal Integration: Broader Access Models for Realizing Information Dominance (December 2004; JSR-04-312)
- Active Sonar Waveform, (June 2004; JSR-03-200)
- The Computational Challenges of Medical Imaging, (February 2004; JSR-03-300)
- Requirements for ASCIAdvanced Simulation and Computing ProgramThe Advanced Simulation and Computing Program is a supercomputing initiative of the United States government, created to help the maintenance of the United States nuclear arsenal after the 1992 moratorium on nuclear testing.Some of the program's supercomputers are on the TOP500...
, (October 2003; JSR-03-330) - Portable Energy for the Dismounted Soldier, (June 2003; JSR-02-135)
- Turbulent Boundary Layer Drag Reduction, (May 2003; JSR-01-135)
- High Power Lasers, (April 2003; JSR-02-224)
- Biodetection Architectures, (February 2003; JSR-02-330)
- Opportunities at the Intersection of Nanoscience, Biology and Computation, (November 2002; JSR-02-300)
- Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program, (April 2002; JSR-01-315)
- Non-GPS Methods of Geolocation, (January 2002; JSR-00-105)
- Radiological Weapons, (2002; JSR-02-340)
- Biofutures, (June 2001; JSR-00-130)
- Spintronics, (February 2001; JSR-99-115)
- Advantage of Base-Line Redundancy in Sparse Apertures, (September 2000; JSR-2000-551)
- Space Infrastructure for 2020, (September 2000; JSR-99-125)
- Imaging Infrared Detectors II, (June 2000; JSR-97-500)
- Molecular Electronics: Interfacing the Nano- and Micro-Worlds, (May 2000; JSR-99-120)
- Power Sources for Ultra Low Power Electronics, (June 2000; JSR-98-130)
- 100 LBS TO Low Earth Orbit (LEO): Small-Payload Launch Options, (January 2000; JSR-98-140)
- Data Mining and the Human Genome (January 2000; JSR-99-310)
- Primary Performance Margins (December 1999; JSR-99-305) (unclassified introduction)
- System-Level Flight Tests, December 1999; JSR-98-310)
- Remanufacture (of Nuclear Weapons), (October 1999; JSR-99-300)
- Army Battlefield Communications (September 1999; JSR-96-605)
- Characterization of Underground Facilities (April 1999; JSR-97-155)
- Non-destructive Evaluation and Self-Monitoring Materials (April 1999; JSR-98-145)
- Electro Thermal Chemical Gun Technology Study (March 1999; JSR-98-600)
- Small Unit Operations (June 1998; JSR-97-142)
- Signatures of Aging Revisited (March 1998; JSR-98-320)
- Signatures of Aging [of nuclear weapons] (January 1998; JSR-97-320)
- Counterproliferation (January 1998; JSR-94-140)
- High Energy Density Explosives (October 1997; JSR-97-110)
- Human Genome ProjectHuman Genome ProjectThe Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...
(October 1997; JSR-97-315) - Small Scale Propulsion: Fly on the Wall, Cockroach in the Corner, Rat in the Basement, Bird in the Sky (September 1997; JSR-97-135)
- Subcritical Experiments (March 1997; JSR-97-300)
- New Technological Approaches to Humanitarian Demining, November 1996; JSR-96-115)
- Quantum ComputingQuantum computerA quantum computer is a device for computation that makes direct use of quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data. Quantum computers are different from traditional computers based on transistors...
(July 1996; JSR-95-115) - Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Review (March 1996; JSR-96-300)
- DNA Computing (October 1995; JSR-95-116)
- JASON Nuclear Testing Study: Summary and Conclusions, August 1995; JSR-95-320)
- Accelerator production of tritium - 1995 review (June 1995; JSR-95-310)
- Accelerator based conversion of plutonium (March 1995; JSR-94-310)
- Microsurveillance of the Urban Battlefield (February 1995; JSR-95-125)
- JASON Nuclear Testing Study: Summary and Conclusions (1995; JSR-95-320)
- Jason Final Report, January 1995; JSR-94-105)
- LIDAR (September 1994; JSR-93-310)
- Science based stockpile stewardship (November 1994; JSR-94-345)
- Counter proliferation /draft/ (August 1994; JSR-94-140)
- MTPE /draft/ (August 1994; JSR-94-750)
- ARMAtmospheric Radiation MeasurementThe United States Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program was created in 1989 to develop several highly instrumented ground stations to study cloud formation processes and their influence on radiative transfer...
/draft/ (July 1994; JSR-94-300) - CO2 greenhouse mitigation (May 1994; JSR-93-340)
- Underwater explosions ONR/DNA/NAVSEA /draft/ (January 1994; JSR-94-220)
- Clouds and radiation a premier [sic] (January 1993; JSR-90-307)
- Verification of dismantlement of nuclear warheads and controls on nuclear materials (January 1993; JSR-92-331)
- Small satellites and RPVs (January 1993; JSR-91-197)
- SCHAMMP (Dec 1992; JSR-91-310)
- JASON Global Grid Study (July 1992; JSR-92-100)
- ARM review 1991 /draft/ (September 30, 1991; JSR-91-300)
- Small satellite and RPAs in global change research /draft/ (August 1991; JSR-91-330-12)
- Small Satellites (August 3, 1991; JSR-91-330-10)
- ARM /draft/ (July 1991; JSR-91-300)
- Verification Technology: Unclassified Version (October 1990; JSR-89-100A)
- High gain arrays /draft/ (July 1990; JSR-90-210)
- Detecting the greenhouse signal (May 1990; JSR-89-330)
- JASON Review of Brilliant Pebbles, Vol. I, Executive Summary (September 1989; JSR-89-900)
- Neutrino Detection Primer (March 1988; JSR-84-105)
- Airships (1988; JSR-88-230)
- Occulation study summary (February 1987; JSR-86-108)
- JASON study on OTHB radars (1987; JSR-87-801)
- Development stability of strategic defenses (October 1986; JSR-85-926)
- Submarine detection: Acoustic contrast versus Acoustic glow (July 1985; JSR-85-108)
- Seismic discrimination (April 1985 ; JSR-84-117)
- SEASAT Report (January 1985; JSR-83-203)
- Multiple scattering effects in radar observations of wakes (August 1984; JSR-84-203B)
- SEASATSeasatSEASAT was the first Earth-orbiting satellite designed for remote sensing of the Earth's oceans and had on board the first spaceborne synthetic aperture radar . The mission was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of global satellite monitoring of oceanographic phenomena and to help determine...
III & IV (August 1984; JSR-84-203) - SEASATSeasatSEASAT was the first Earth-orbiting satellite designed for remote sensing of the Earth's oceans and had on board the first spaceborne synthetic aperture radar . The mission was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of global satellite monitoring of oceanographic phenomena and to help determine...
Report (March 1984; JSR-83-203) - The Long Term Impact of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide on Climate: preliminary report (1979) JSR-78-07 and (1980) JSR-79-04; more fully published as MacDonald et al., (1982)
- Sonic BoomSonic BoomSonic boom may refer to:* Sonic boom, a shockwave, usually caused by aircraft travelling faster than sound* Sonic Boom is an album by hard rock-band KISS* Sonic Boom, Inc., a mobile entertainment developer and publisher...
Report (November 1978; JSR-78-09) - Laser Propulsion Study (Summer 1977; JSR-77-12)
- Low frequency sound propagation in a fluctuating infinite ocean II (June 1975; JSR-74-6)
- Low frequency sound propagation in a fluctuating infinite ocean (April 1974; JSR-73-10)
- The effect of surface currents on the equilibrium surface wave spectral energy density (October 1973; JSR-73-2)
- Collected working papers on internal—surface wave interactions and related problems (August 2, 1972; JASON-72-Working Paper no.33)
- Internal WaveInternal waveInternal waves are gravity waves that oscillate within, rather than on the surface of, a fluid medium. They are one of many types of wave motion in stratified fluids . A simple example is a wave propagating on the interface between two fluids of different densities, such as oil and water...
-Surface Wave Interactions Revisited (March 1972; Paper P-853) - Report of the 1971 JASON Laser Summer Study. Volume I. Recommendations and Conclusions (1971)
- Report of the 1971 JASON Laser Summer Study. Volume II. Supporting Appendices A-M (1971)
- Generation and Airborne Detection of Internal Waves from an Object Moving through a Stratified Ocean, Vol II (April 1969; S-334)
- Tactical Nuclear WeaponsTactical nuclear weaponA tactical nuclear weapon refers to a nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations. This is as opposed to strategic nuclear weapons which are designed to menace large populations, to damage the enemy's ability to wage war, or for general deterrence...
in Southeast Asia (March 1967)
Further reading
- Ann Finkbeiner, The Jasons: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite, Viking/Penguin, April 6, 2006, ISBN 0-670-03489-4
- John Horgan, "Rent-a-Genius", The New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, April 16, 2006.