Edward Condon

Edward Uhler Condon was a pioneer of quantum mechanics, known for the Franck–Condon principle in molecular physics. He briefly worked on the Manhattan Project and was director of the National Bureau of Standards from 1945 to 1951. In 1948 the House Un-American Activities Committee called him a weak link in atomic security; scientists including Einstein defended him.

In 1966 the Air Force funded the University of Colorado to study UFOs, with Condon as scientific director. The final report, delivered in 1968 and released in January 1969, found ordinary explanations for most cases. Condon's summary concluded that two decades of UFO study had added nothing to scientific knowledge and that further extensive study was probably not justified. A National Academy of Sciences panel endorsed the method, and the Air Force closed Project Blue Book in 1969.

Critics, including NICAP and some project staff, said the study had decided its answer early, pointing to a 1966 memo by coordinator Robert Low. Condon said that memo did not reflect his views.