Gordon J. MacDonald

Biography

Abstract

Gordon James Fraser MacDonald was Director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Vienna, Austria (1996-2000). Other institutional affiliations included the University of California, San Diego and MITRE Corporation. His research interests included geophysics and climate change.

Important Dates

July 30, 1929Birth, Mexico City (Mexico).

1950Obtained AB, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1952Obtained AM, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1954Obtained PhD in Geophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1954 – 1958Assistant to Associate Professor of Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1958 – 1968Professor, Institute of Geophysics, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles (Calif.).

1961 – 1968Member, Panel on Atmospheric Sciences (1961-1964) and Member (1964-1968), President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

1961 – 1970Member, Committee on Atmospheric Sciences, National Academy of Sciences.

1962Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1964 – 1967Member, Advisory Panel for Weather Modification, National Science Foundation (NSF).

1966 – 1968Vice President, Institute for Defense Analyses.

1966 – 1970Member, Board of Trustees, Institute for Defense Analyses.

1968 – 1970Vice Chancellor, Research and Graduate Affairs, University of California, Santa Barbara.

1968 – 1970Professor of Physics and Geophysics, University of California, Santa Barbara.

1968 – 1970Member, Board of Trustees, MITRE Corporation.

1970 – 1972Member, Council on Environmental Quality, Executive Office of the President.

1972 – 1977Member, Board of Trustees, MITRE Corporation.

1972 – 1984Henry R. Luce Third Century Professor (1972-1979); Director, Environmental Studies Program (1972-1979); and Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies (1979-1984), Dartmouth College.

1975 – 1984Member, Board of Directors, Environmental Law Institute.

1976 – 1979Member, Advisory Board, Gas Research Institute.

1979 – 1990Distinguished Visiting Scholar (1977-1979); Chief Scientist (1979-1983); and Vice President and Chief Scientist (1983-1990), MITRE Corporation, McLean (Va.).

1990 – 1996Professor of International Relations, University of California, San Diego, San Diego (Calif.).

1996 – 2000Director, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Vienna, Austria.

May 14, 2002Death.

Occupation

Geophysicist.

Places

Birth

Mexico City (Mexico)

Undergraduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Graduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Employment

Los Angeles (Calif.)

Hanover (N.H.)

McLean (Va.)

San Diego (Calif.)

Subjects

Chemistry.

Fluid dynamics.

Geophysics.

Greenhouse effect, Atmospheric.

Plate tectonics.

Science and state.

Relationships

People

Family

MacDonald, Bruce Scott

Son.

MacDonald, Gordon James

Son.

MacDonald, Margaret Stone

Wife.

MacDonald, Maureen

Daughter.

MacDonald, Michael Andrew

Son.

Pfiester, Barbara MacDonald

Sister.

Colleagues

Bennett, Ivan L., Jr.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Bitter, Francis, 1902-1967

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Branscomb, Lewis M., 1926-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Brooks, Harvey

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Calvin, Melvin, 1911-1997

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Doty, Paul M., 1920-2011

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Drell, Sidney D. (Sidney David), 1926-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Dynes, Robert C.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Ference, Michael, 1911-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Fletcher, James Chipman, 1919-1991

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Garwin, Richard L.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Gell-Mann, Murray

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Gilliland, Edwin Richard, 1909-1973

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Handler, Philip, 1917-1981

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Hartle, J. B. (James B.)

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Hewlett, William R.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Hornig, Donald F., 1920-2013

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Kaula, William M.

Both employed at University of California, Los Angeles, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.

Long, Franklin A., 1910-1999

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

MacLeod, Colin M. (Colin Munro), 1909-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

McElroy, William David, 1917-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Pake, G. E. (George Edward)

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Peale, Stanton Jerrold

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Pierce, John R. (John Robinson), 1910-2002

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Pitzer, Kenneth S. (Kenneth Sanborn), 1914-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Press, Frank, 1924-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Purcell, Edward M.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Scalapino, Douglas J.

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Seitz, Frederick, 1911-2008

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Simon, Herbert A. (Herbert Alexander), 1916-2001

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Slichter, Charles P.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Slichter, Louis B. (Louis Byrne), 1896-1978

Both employed at University of California, Los Angeles.

Townes, Charles H.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Wood, Harland G. (Harland Goff), 1907-1991

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Additional

Abelson, Philip Hauge

Birch, Francis, 1903-1992

Bloembergen, N.

Bridgman, P. W. (Percy Williams), 1882-1961

Furry, W. H. (Wendell Hinkle), 1907-

Hamilton, Edwin L. (Edwin Lee), 1914-

Knopoff, Leon, 1925-

Ruina, J. P. (Jack P.)

Schwinger, Julian, 1918-1994

Sharp, D. H. (David Howland), 1938-

Tuve, Merle Antony, 1901-1982

Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981

Washington, Warren M.

Institutions

Major Positions

Dartmouth College. Environmental Studies Program

Henry R. Luce Third Century Professor; Director, Environmental Studies Program; and Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies.

Institute for Defense Analyses

Vice President and Member, Board of Trustees.

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

Director.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Geology and Geophysics

Assistant to Associate Professor of Geophysics.

Mitre Corporation

Member, Board of Trustees; Distinguished Visiting Scholar; Chief Scientist; and Vice President and Chief Scientist.

University of California, Los Angeles. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.

Professor.

University of California, San Diego. Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies

Professor of International Relations.

University of California, Santa Barbara

Vice Chancellor, Research and Graduate Affairs.

University of California, Santa Barbara. Department of Earth Science

Professor of Geophysics.

University of California, Santa Barbara. Department of Physics

Professor of Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Council on Environmental Quality (U.S.)

Member.

Environmental Law Institute

Member, Board of Directors.

Gas Research Institute

Member, Advisory Board.

Harvard University. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Obtained AB (1950), AM (1952), and PhD in Geophysics (1954).

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member and Member, Committee on Atmospheric Sciences.

National Science Foundation (U.S.)

Member and Member, Advisory Panel for Weather Modification.

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

United States. President's Science Advisory Committee

Member and Member, Panel on Atmospheric Sciences.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Oral history interview with Gordon J. F. MacDonald, 1994 March 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Gordon J. MacDonald, 1986 April 16.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Gordon J. MacDonald, 1993 November 15, 1994 March 18 and 1995 August 4.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Edward N. Lorenz papers, circa 1895-2009.

Manuscript Division

Library of Congress

James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA

Edwin Lee Hamilton papers, 1933-1995.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Oral history interview with D. H. Sharp, 1993 July 23.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Jack P. Ruina, 1991 August 8.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Leon Knopoff, 1990 April 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Sound and light phenomena : a study of historical and modern occurrences / by Sandra Claflin-Chalton and Gordon J. MacDonald.

The Long-term impacts of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels / edited by Gordon J. MacDonald.

The rotation of the earth; a geophysical discussion, by Walter H. Munk and Gordon J. F. MacDonald.

Subject

"Gordon James Fraser MacDonald: 1930-2002", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

Gordon MacDonald American Astronomical Society obituary.