>>11628322 (LB)

>Jason Group

Jason—a secretive group of Cold War science advisers—is fighting to survive in the 21st century

By Ann FinkbeinerJun. 27, 2019 , 1:30 PM

After 59 years of service, Jason, the famed science advisory group, was being fired, and it didn't know why. On 29 March, the exclusive and shadowy group of some 65 scientists received a letter from the Department of Defense (DOD) saying it had just over a month to pack up its files and wind down its affairs. "It was a total shock," said Ellen Williams, Jason's vice chair and a physicist at the University of Maryland in College Park. "I had no idea what the heck was going on."

The letter terminated Jason's contract with DOD's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USDR&E) in Arlington, Virginia, which was Jason's contractual home—the conduit through which it was paid for all of its government work. So, in effect, the letter killed off all of Jason's work for defense and nondefense agencies alike.

Just days away was the group's spring meeting in Washington, D.C., where members and government sponsors would refine the dozen or so problems Jason would tackle in San Diego, California, during members' summer leave from their campuses and labs. Jason had to keep functioning, even as it prepared to die. It told sponsors it was still planning to do the studies, and advised members to keep their calendars open but not sign summer leases. It made plans for an attenuated spring meeting reception: not the usual dinner, but meatball and spinach-feta appetizers and plastic cups at the cash bar.

After 59 years of service, Jason, the famed science advisory group, was being fired, and it didn't know why. On 29 March, the exclusive and shadowy group of some 65 scientists received a letter from the Department of Defense (DOD) saying it had just over a month to pack up its files and wind down its affairs. "It was a total shock," said Ellen Williams, Jason's vice chair and a physicist at the University of Maryland in College Park. "I had no idea what the heck was going on."

The letter terminated Jason's contract with DOD's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USDR&E) in Arlington, Virginia, which was Jason's contractual home—the conduit through which it was paid for all of its government work. So, in effect, the letter killed off all of Jason's work for defense and nondefense agencies alike.

Just days away was the group's spring meeting in Washington, D.C., where members and government sponsors would refine the dozen or so problems Jason would tackle in San Diego, California, during members' summer leave from their campuses and labs. Jason had to keep functioning, even as it prepared to die. It told sponsors it was still planning to do the studies, and advised members to keep their calendars open but not sign summer leases. It made plans for an attenuated spring meeting reception: not the usual dinner, but meatball and spinach-feta appetizers and plastic cups at the cash bar.

Meanwhile, members hurriedly wrote emails and made urgent phone calls, looking for other contractual homes. Then, on 25 April, the night before the reception, came a reprieve. Williams and Jason's chair, Russell Hemley, a materials chemist at the University of Illinois in Chicago, heard from the Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which for decades had commissioned Jason to study the health of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. Now, NNSA said it couldn't afford a gap in its studies and pledged to pick up the Jason contract, at least until January 2020.

At the reception, in an auditorium at MITRE Corporation, Jason's administrator in McLean, Virginia, Jason members appeared relieved by NNSA's decision, although what went wrong at DOD was unclear. "The department remains committed to seeking independent technical advice and review," a USDR&E spokesperson said in a statement. "This change is in keeping with this commitment while making the most economic sense for the department." Mike Griffin, a former NASA administrator who heads USDR&E, declined to speak to Science about the dismissal.

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https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/06/jason-secretive-group-cold-war-science-advisers-fighting-survive-21st-century

>Worth the read ^^^

Seems DOD dropped them with 65 scientists let go in 2019. Remember? Q covered the beginning of this after taking out the Silk Road operators. Lifted window/powder residue/Chyna. Flashbang out.

They've since picked up work elsewhere.

This is a neat subject regarding their work on Census oversight to prevent mass organized fraud as well.

17 members.