re: NASA/Ames ending contracts with 400 scientists
yes, Gary was with AMES and I'm sure he'd have a few interesting things to say about this. Too bad he doesn't seem to be around any more.
From the article I get the impression that while some projects are being cancelled (eg biology-related), at the same time they are upgrading their supercomputer capacities. If that's right then maybe Gary is secure - I think he's in atmospheric CFD modeling for heatshield design