Chief Project Scientist of the Colorado grant. World famous atomic scientist, worked on the Manhattan Project. Also former head of the National Bureau of Standards. Despite being a friend of Donald Menzel and Howard P. Robertson, he had no interest in the subject of UFOs. He accepted the Air Force grant as a grudging favor to them and his colleague at the High-Altitude Observatory (Walter Orr Roberts), and because it was a particularly tough time for grant monies. Condon had a physicist's conservative view of what comprised "proof" of anything in science, and was convinced before the project began that no such proof for UFOs could be found. He began the project with the notion that UFOs were a harmless nonsense subject, and that his administrative assistant, Robert Low, would do whatever work was necessary. He and Low were informed, early in the project, that the Air Force was not interested in a scientific analysis of the phenomenon, but rather wanted a report recommending that they end their Project Blue Book and divest themselves from the burden of investigating UFO reports. This latter ended up being the exact recommendation Condon ultimately made. (Comment: UFOs & Government, 2012)