JASON ( advisory group ) 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 . Activities . For administrative purposes , JASON ' s activities are run through the MITRE 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 CO - driven global warming , 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 clearance 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 . 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 Congressman 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 . Research . JASON studies include :