CATION (J/a•r> 

DISPOSITION FORM 

FILE NO. 

TO S/ASST ....... FROM 

Comments on Dr. Cairns' Memo of 24 March 1953 

to NSA SAB on SCAMP 1953 

· DATE COMMENT NO. 1 

TECBDIR/PROD 21 April 1953 _ . . 

1. I have been expecting from Dr. Leibler a memo on the subject of SCAMP which 

would clarify for this office the views of NSA-03 on the purposes of SCAMP and the 

Agency's philosophy concerning it. I was hoping to use this me~o as a means of 

clarifying our own views on the matter and coming to an understanding with NSA-03 

of what the appropriate use of SC.AMP should be. 

2. Pending the arrival of this memo I had been delaying sending you the · comments prepared by Frank Raven on the communication from Dr. Cairns. .I now have 

Leibler's ideas and am sending you my views on them, along with Raven's comments on 

Dr. Cairns' memo. 

3 Incle. 

A. SINKOV 

Technical Director 

Production 

1. Copy of Dr. Leibler'e note, and reply thereto. 

2. Mr. Raven's memo. 

3 • Dr. Cairns ' memo • 

TO: FROM: S :ASST 23 Apr 53 

For coment on suggested subdivision of SCAMP, 195.3· 

At{)~ ~ Wfl.LuM F. PRIEIIW 

Special Assistant 

COMMENT 2 

DD FORM 9 6 REPLACES NME FORM 116. I OCT a. WHICH MAY BE USED. 

Ul-iKl!Ol-3 -/t g, lo GOYER .. ENT PRINTING Of Pie& 

I FEB ~O . 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 02-07-2014 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 
REF ID:A71786 

SCA.'JP Program J.;153 

TECliDL-q/P.ROD 2l April l953 

l. Not long ago Mr. Fried:l.aL sent to th!.s ofi"ice e. ~orandum on the l953 

SCAMP Program vbich bed been prepared by Professor Cairns and addressed to tbe membem 

~ the Scientific Advisoey Boa.rd. Mr. Friedman bad requested comment.a from 8Z.l:1' 06 

pereomiel ~tereeted in the progrsm. Such OQBllGllts vere prepared by Mr. RaYen vi.th 

the belp ot Mr. Lever.son &nd Dr. Shaw, but I dela;yed sending them becs.uee I had been 

advlled °b)" Mr. Levenson that you were: going to send me a atatement of NSA-03•s 

philoaoph)r and program iD conna~tion v1 th SC..~. 

2. I have nov nce1ve4 your note and find that in the main it is in line with 

the oammente 07 Professor Caima, stating that SCAMP•s general purpose ta tbe des1:re 

to increase the knowle~e avail~l.a coneernin~roble:u and their computational eolutlon. As a secondary field of con.Bi~ mention is made ot the f'act 

that a claae of probli?m.S of more i:r:-r.ec:Uat-.! 1ot.e.rest ~o t~ .~;ency v1ll also t>e considered. 

3. In d'feat then ve are combining into one program a series of very long-range 

problama whose contribution i3 cs~anti~lly in the fi~ld. of methodology and ~ cl.aas of 

problems of shorter ?'3Dge '.)f mvN d.irect 1nt~rest to too ·~~nc:y' s i:!cledia.te ef'fort. 

4. Although these two different objectives are to an extent complemen'taJ7, 

there is more loss t~ gain, I should think, in merging them. In the main, different 

groups of people are called for in the t._,o separate types of effort. The clearance 

requirements are radic.!ally different tor the two ~pal in one 1.natanc:e, no clearance at all is neeessary (a.a evidenced by SCAMP 1952); in the other, the very highest 

ole&r&DCe 11 indispensable. ThG study of dieareet problems abould be conducted at 

a location such as Los .\ntgeles v!lere rel'1.ted acrtiv1ti0s like ~ and S\iAC can a.e11111t 

the effortJ the more immediate problem :;iust blB handled here at the .~ency, and may 

derive oons14erable profit trom the bac£grou:id a:id experience of mathematici&na previously auociated intimately with our effort. 

5. t therefore propose that SCAMP be eubd1v1ded. into tvo parts vith the part 

ot tmmediate interest to 06 conduated at lfSA1 Waahington, and vith Yh&tever belp from 

06 penonnel as )'OU may desire. 

6. I am ftmdSng along a copy ot ~n•a CO!JlllK!nt vhioh follovs al.cng the same 

general line• u 'l1t1 own 14eu. 

Incl.o8ure 

a/a 

At. SlliKOV 

'technical Director 

Production 
REF ID:A71786 

PROD Attn: Dr. A.. S1alr:Dv _ -10 April 1953 

R/'Jl 

SCAMP Program 19 53 

1. You ban in 70w poaaeesioa a memorandum b)" s. Cairns dated 

24 March 1953, 'for members of JISA 8c1entit1c Adrtao17 :Board on the SCAMP 

program for 1953. I believe 1 t gives an a.ccUl"ate deecnpUon of hew we e~ec\ SCJJIP to clavelop this J'ltU", aad the step& it •'• forth meet vi'h 

34-1 • conourren-ce. 

2. Our fundamenbl purpose in holdiag SCAMP is, as Ca.ims atate~ . ...--... to incl'tlase the general tnovledge a.Tatlable concerning <dt scre"!!Jproblua -..., 

and their computational eolu\lona. ho of the etartin& point• for this 

aim will be the study of flniie proJacUTe planes a.nd convex rectona. 

A third atart1.D8 point lrl.ll be a claH of :problems vhich are of more immediate interest to tbe Af5enc7. 

3. Art Levenson, Sam Sohrzd. tt and .Bob Shaw a.re nov helping° Ille to 

!>?'eParG a list of Agency problems which "e expect some members of SCA.MP 

to uee as a starting point for their investigations. It is pl:mned to 

have these problems :presented to the members of SCAMP b)" such people as 

Marebal.l hll, Al Clifford. and Andy Gleason. lt is al.so hoped that e. 

few membe.rs of 06 will be able to attend SCAMP for the tull tvo JllODths 

in order to help guide the work along lines of 1nterHt to ISA. If you 

concur I vould appreciate yow-nomi:a.aUons in the near future. 

JOB ACTING ASSl~ DIBJW'roR RESEARCH AND lDYELOP)ll;ff: 

ec: 30 

3012 (2) 

12 sa 

J 

- -- - -· - - ~~-------- ~./ 
9 April 1953 

Memorandum for the Couultant 

- Through: Technical Director, Production 

Subject: Comments on Dr. Cairns' memo of 24 Mar '53 to Ii1SA SAB on SCAMP 1953· 

1. Dr. Cairns' me?ll:O es_tapμ_shes a SC.AMP 1953 which is entirely a. longra.nge research project~ It is:considered that t~ t'irst general objective , •' I' ,\ that of "increasing the:··-g~nero.l. knowledge available concerning discrete problems and·their computational solution," is appropriate to the mission of 

such a. project o.nd viJ.i,· il1l the long run, prove of interest to PROD. The 

second general objective, that of "~eating competent mathe:ma.tici&ns in 

mathemal.tical theory and techniques of interest to the sponsor," seems to 

be stated the wrong wm.y round. Not only -would educating mathematicians in 

our techniques represent a con~equential security threat; it Eli.ght indeed, 

in requiring an otherwise unnecessary security clearance, prejudice the 

first mission of SCllMP by excluding mathematiciaas - e.g., Stn.nisLl!l.w M. Ulam. -

peculiarly fitted to make subatantial contributions to a carefully directed 

progrrua on discrete problems. Surely the second objective shouJ.d be producing JJa.thematical theory and techniques of interest to the sponsor. 

2. Such a ,Project seems :whol.ly acc~te.ble; with careful direction by 

personnel of R/D, it should produce results which in ten or fifteen ~a.rs 

may be of value to PROD. It seems highly undesirable to present the-plll"-

ticipants with a discussion of ~rent PROD problems; the doings of the 

agency should be presented, if a , about at the level of Sacco or Helen , F.oucM.-" Gaines. There is therefo no need for PROD personnel to attel:l.d ,: - _.) .. ~ 

';:S.UC~.t!l' project; the PROD interest will be satisfied if we a.re provided with ... _,,., o ... 

· -'-all~~y&;luated summnry of results. . -!:•· ··.c·.,. 

3. We contemplated that, as a result of the camm.ents made on SCAMP 

1952, the 1953 project would be something quite different fro11 what Dr. 

Cairn& describes. This hypothetical project, which PROD cou1d b.c.ve supported 

.with considerable enthusia.si:t, would consist in having a pan.el of competent 

:cm.thematicians (c0nceivably those actually na.i:ied for SCAMP l.953), fully cleared~ to discuss certain PROD and C/S"I5r, operational. problems and to 

perform research either direct~ on these problems or on the techniques 

they considered appropria.te to· these problems. We have, in fact, a tentative 

list of thirteen such problems, prepared when there seemed-to be some possibility. that they would constitute tpe agenda of SCAMP 1953· It would-be 

desirable and appropriate for PROD to provide representatives at such a 

colloquium to present the problems a.nd to assist in the direction of research. 

4. Since SC.AMP 1953 is intended ns a long range research project, we 

feel that there is a. need f'or a. separate project devoted to the study of 

problems of more immediate concern to the Office of Production. This group 

voul.d-m.eet rJ.t Arlington Hall·a.nd be composed e1ltirel.y of completely cleared 

individuals to do research on a specific list of'. problems. We suggest M. Hall Jr., 

A.M. Gleason, A.H. Clifford, E. HQ.Ilsen, R.J. Levitt, W.W. Jacobs, George 

Kr=' mid A1 Whi tema.n. u ~ tf2-.-

~~[~~~~~~~i~£~ r NUL 
1:>"C"'C' TT"I. • 111 ""J' "I ""J' C' ,-

J 

- -- MEMO ROUTING SLIP USE FOR APFROVALS,.Uis.APPROY"ALS. 

CONCURRENCES. OR SIMILAR ACTIONS 

1 KAME Oil Till.a IHlTIAl..S CIRCULATE 

Dr. A. Sinkov - ORGAlllZATJON AHD LOCAtlOH D. ~~B DATE COOROlllATIOH 

PROD 

2 FU.I! 

- IHFORMA TIOH 

3 NECESSARY ACl10ll 

NOTE AND RETURN 

4 SEE ME 

SIQllATURE 

llEIWIXS 

Comments would be appreciated from any of your 

peop1e who are interested in SC.AMP 1953. 

FRON KAME OR TIT1.E Di\-Mar 

OllGANIZATIOlt AllD LOCATIOH WltUAM ~PFf~IAl I 

~DMAN TANT ~93 

DD FORM 95 ReplaoeeDAAGOForm89.5,IApr48,1U1dAFBQ I fE8 60 Form~ 10 Nov '7, whlab mqbe lltled. 
..! 

24 March 1953 

M£:YJCRA11JDUM FOR: Me.moors of NSA Scientific Advisory :Board 

SUBJECT: SCP..M.P Progrmn 19 $3 

lo A s3"lil.posi.um known &s SCAMP was sponsored in the summer or 1952 

by the Armed Forces Seourii{y Agency (now called the National Security 

Agency} at the Insti tl!te fol" Numerical Analysis of t.11.e National Bureau 

of Standa.rds en tha ce.mpus of tbs University of California at Los 

Angel0s., A sequel~ SCAMP 19.53, ia planned for this coming summero Tbs 

project is to be financed by fllllds transferred from the NSA to the NBS 

through the Office of Naval Researcho Accordingly:; Dr., Mina Raes o! the 

ONR an:i Dr., Jo!m Ho Curtiss of" the NBS are interested both in the 

scier.rtific quel.it;y of' the SCAMP program and in ita relevance to the 

practical problams of tbs ?~at.tonal Security Agencyo I accordingly agreed 

to describe to the Advisory Board the ~asent plans for SCAMP and to 

transmit the :Board's comments to Dr .. Rees. Since time did not permit us 

to consider this matter at our meeting on 5 Feblf'Uary 9 I am soliciting 

your opinions by mai.1 0 though I realize that some of you are relatively 

neu to the p1oblems involvado 

2 o Aside from NS.A personnel, the expected SCAMP participants are 

Ao A .. Albert, R., Ho BruckD K .. Ao Bu.sh, S .. So Cairns (Chairman)~ Randolph 

Church.11 Ao Hi:o Clif'tord., W., So Connor, Re Po Dil'ffOrth,, A. M., Gleason, 

R,, Aa Good, D .. Wa Hall, Marshall !fa.111 A. J., Ps0ff.ma.n, V., L .. Klee~ Ertdn 

Kleintald:i Jo Co Koken, !1orris Newman, L. Ja Paige (.Executive Secretary), 

Gordon Pal.l_, Ao E .. Roberts, and Ce Bo 'lompki.ns,., 

J., The goneraJ. objectives or SCAMP were expresaed as follows 1n a 

letter of 23 January 1953 from John H,. Curt.1.ss to the Chief of Naval 

Research: 

ao "Increasing the general knowledge available concerning 

discrete problems and th.Sir computational solutiono • 

b., "Educating competent mathematicians in mathemattcal. 

theory and techniques oi interest to the sponsor.,u 

4., Al though data.Us remain to be worked out, it is contemplated 

that the first object.ive shall be pursued as follow: 

ao Aa backgrowid material11 and as a nucleus about which t.his 

year~ s research may be built.11 the participants will be 

supplied withi 

(1) An expository account, now being prspared, of last 

su:nmer~ s 'tiiOrk and ot closely related topics a 

( 2) A pa.per "Discrete problems and computersv: (copy being 

sent separately to !l!IBmbers of the Adv.isor;y Board) 

prepared by Co Bo Tompkins suba~quent to SCAMP 19$251 

CONFIDENTIAL 
( .3) Na ter-la.1 concerning convex regions and their use in 

discrete computational problems, being developed and 

prepared in a suitable form for use by participants: 

( 4) .Appropriate computatiol'.s prepared for SWAC in advance 

of the symposium., together with coding and full descrip... 

tions of the problems for expcsi tory purposes,, 

b" During July and August., research will be condueted by tbe 

participants listed ab:>ve~ in collaooration with personnel assigned to 

SCAMP by t.11.e National Security Agea;yo The latter wi.116 besides participat~ng in the research, help gUide lt in directions of particular 

in·t.erest to th.a NSA.. Tba participants have been selected because of 

theil" demonstr'ated a.bill i\Y and indaper.dant interest in discl'et.0 problERS 

more or less rslated to the purposes of SCAMPo It is considered best 

not to confine tl-:.eir activities by assigning to them a set of specific 

problemfl 9 but rather to leave them free tll cucy out the mission of 

SCJUrlP tD.. th the aid of the preparatory measures just listed, the educational program about to be described and the continlli.ng advice of NSA 

personnelo 

So To promom the second objective under item J above.11 material 

concerning communications and soma of tha engineering aspects of CODP 

puwrs will be made available to the participants$ according to present 

plansfl as follows: 

ao A couraa of eight lectures will be devoted to selected 

topics in military commiJD:ications., These will be planned 

within the NSA and presumably delivered by NS.A personnel o 

b., Another coUX'se of eight lecillrea will describe engineering 

i!.Spects or computer components in order that the part.iciQ 

pants may ba in a position to assess the possibUit;r ot 

solVing certain problems with the aid. of spacial. purpose 

equip:ment.. Mro Joseph Desch of National Cash Register has 

e.xpresaea a Killingneas to cooperate in this lecture 

course, and Ml"o John McPherson bas assured me that IBM 

personnel idll al.so provide expert assistanceo 

Attendance at tJ':o..e lecturo courses is to be optional" and the series on 

engineering aspects of computers will be open to interested persons who 

are not membars of SC.AMP .. 

60 I should appreciate your ccmments on the SCAMP program at an 

early date. They should be addressed to me at the Mathematics Department.P 

University of: IllL"'lois.v Urbana, Illinoiso 

So Sc CAIRNS 

Chaiman of the AdVisor,y Board 

CONFIDENTIAL