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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federation of American Scientists | 2/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_American_Scientists | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T10:31:49.944530+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Mission === The mission of FAS is to promote a safer and more secure world by developing and advancing solutions to important science and technology security policy problems by educating the public and policy makers, and promoting transparency through research and analysis to maximize impact on policy. This mission was established early on and was deemed necessary for the federation, as decisions made by the United States during the conception of the FAS were critical in terms of shaping international relations. The FAS wanted the public to become more critical and aware of the government, in order to monitor the decisions that were made to ensure that they matched what the public actually wanted. The FAS would act to inform the public about how destructive the improper use of atomic energy could be and emphasize the need to enforce international control of atomic weapons and energy.
=== Membership === In 1969, the FAS had a rough annual budget of $7,000 and relied on mostly volunteer staff. In 1970 Jeremy J. Stone was selected as president of the organization and was the only staff member for the next 5 years. Due to Stone being the president and only member of the organization he influenced the future and direction of the organization heavily. With an increased budget in the 1990s FAS was able to employ a staff of about a dozen people and expand membership of the organization. In the mid-1980s, the FAS began relying more heavily on professional staff and analysts, and journalists rather than famous scientists as it did previously in its history. The organization shifted toward public information and transparency in the government and away from secrecy in covert projects and finances. In 2000 Henry C. Kelly, a former senior scientist in the Office of Technology Assessment and science policy adviser in the Clinton administration, became the new president. He further pursued the goals of the program of bolstering science in policy and focusing on using that science to further benefit the public. During his eight-year tenure as president, FAS received significant funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, including a $2.5 million grant for Creative and Effective Institutions. In a 2002 survey conducted within the FAS, it was found that nearly thirty percent of members were physicists. While the next largest fields represented were medicine, biology, engineering, and chemistry. With the latter four fields making up another sixty one percent of the total member population. Members also received complementary copies of "Secrecy News", an electronic newsletter regarding government secrecy and intelligence.
=== Funding from the MacArthur Foundation === Federation of American Scientists was awarded $10,586,000 between 1984 and 2017, including 25 grants in International Peace & Security, MacArthur Award for Creative & Effective Institutions, and Nuclear Challenges. In 2004, the Federation of American Scientists received their largest grant from the MacArthur Foundation of $2,400,000 in support of everything that they do.
=== Leadership History === Jeremy Stone, CEO, 1970-2000 Charles Ferguson, President, 2010-2017
=== Board Members === Joel Primack, board member, lead FAS's 1988 effort to end the Soviet Union’s nuclear reactor-powered satellite program
== Programs and projects ==
=== Nuclear Information Project === The Nuclear Information Project covers nuclear weapons and arms control and the nuclear fuel cycle. The project provides the general public and policy-makers with information and analysis on the status, number, and operation of nuclear weapons, the policies that guide their potential use and nuclear arms control. The project is run by Hans M. Kristensen. The Nuclear Information Project publishes yearly counts of global nuclear forces in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' "Nuclear Notebook" column. The Nuclear Notebook counts and analyzes international nuclear arsenals using open source research methodology. The estimates in the Nuclear Notebook often accurately count warhead inventories, down to the number, and, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, represent an "authoritative accounting of global nuclear warheads compiled by top experts". The Nuclear Information Project conducts other open source investigations into nuclear weapons outside of the Nuclear Notebook. In addition to publishing on the Strategic Security blog, fellows also publish in Forbes.
=== Day One Project and Policy Entrepreneurship === FAS's "Day One Project" crowdsources "science-based policy innovations that can appeal to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle" ready for implementation on "day one" of the next U.S. presidential administration, a project begun in 2019.
== Legacy programs and projects ==
=== Project on Government Secrecy === "From 1991 to 2021, the FAS Project on Government Secrecy worked to challenge excessive government secrecy and to promote public oversight in national security affairs"..."The Project was directed by Steven Aftergood with the support of grants from the Open Society Foundations, the CS Fund, the Bauman Foundation, the Stewart R. Mott Foundation, the Knight Foundation, the HKH Foundation, the Rockefeller Family Fund, and others." The Project on Government Secrecy worked to promote public access to government information and to illuminate the apparatus of government secrecy, including national security classification and declassification policies. The project also published previously undisclosed or hard-to-find government documents of public policy interest, as well as resources on intelligence policy. Declassified documents, as well as Congressional Research Service reports, are archived on the Secrecy News blog.