Steve Aftergood

Steven Aftergood directs the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy, which works to reduce the scope of government secrecy, accelerate the declassification of Cold War documents, and promote reform of official secrecy practices. He writes Secrecy News, an email newsletter and blog that provides frequent updates on new developments in secrecy policy.  In 1997, Mr. Aftergood was the plaintiff in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency which led to the declassification and publication of the total intelligence budget ($26.6 billion in 1997) for the first time in fifty years. Mr. Aftergood is an electrical engineer by training (B.Sc., UCLA, 1977) and has published research in solid state physics.  He has authored and co-authored numerous articles on topics including space nuclear power, atmospheric effects of launch vehicles, and government information policy.