J. Ross Macdonald

Biography

Abstract

James Ross Macdonald is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1974-present). Other institutional affiliations include Texas Instruments and Argonne National Laboratory. His research interests include applied physics and engineering.

Important Dates

February 27, 1923Birth, Savannah (Ga.).

1943 – 1944Assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Radiation Laboratory.

1944Obtained BA, Williams College, Williamstown (Mass.).

1944Obtained SB, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1944 – 1946Technical Radar-Radio Officer, United States Navy.

1947Obtained SM, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1947 – 1948Graduate studies in physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1948 – 1950Obtained DPhil in Physics, Oxford University, Oxford (England).

1950 – 1952Associate Physicist to Physicist, Armour Research Foundation.

1952 – 1953Associate Physicist, Chemistry Division, Argonne National Laboratory.

1953 – 1978Research Physicist, Semiconductor and Solid State Physics (1953-1955); Director, Solid State Physics Research (1955-1961); Director, Physics Research Laboratory (1961-1963); Director, Central Research Laboratories (1963-1972); Director, Corporate Research and Engineering (1967-1968); Vice President, Corporate Research and Engineering (1968-1973); Manager, Objectives Strategies and Tactics System (1972-1973); Vice President, Corporate Research and Development (1973-1974); and Consultant (1974-1978), Texas Instruments, Dallas (Tex.).

1954 – 1971Adjunct Associate Professor of Biophysics, Southwestern Medical School, University of Texas.

1965 – 1973Member, Solid State Sciences Panel, National Academy of Sciences.

1970Member, National Academy of Engineering.

1970 – 1974Chair, Numerical Data Advisory Board, National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering.

1971 – 1973Member, Committee on Science Engineering and Public Policy, National Academy of Sciences.

1971 – 1974Adjunct Professor of Biophysics, Southwestern Medical School, University of Texas.

1971 – 1974Member, Council, National Academy of Engineering.

1973Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1973 – 1975Member, Committee on Education, American Physical Society.

1974 – presentWilliam R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics (1974-1989) and William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Physics (1989-present), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (N.C.).

1975 – 1978Member, Committee on Applications of Physics, American Physical Society.

1975 – 1978Member, Governing Board, American Institute of Physics.

1978 – 1993Consultant (1978-1993) and Member, Board of Directors (1979-1983), Simmonds Precision Products, Inc..

1980 – 1983Secretary, Class III, National Academy of Sciences.

1985Awarded George E. Pake Prize, American Physical Society.

1985 – 1988Member, Commission on Physical Sciences Mathematics and Resources, National Academy of Sciences.

Occupation

Condensed matter physicist.

Places

Birth

Savannah (Ga.)

Undergraduate Education

Williamstown (Mass.)

Cambridge (Mass.)

Graduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Oxford (England)

Employment

Dallas (Tex.)

Chapel Hill (N.C.)

Subjects

Applied physics and engineering.

Biophysics.

Condensed matter.

Electrochemistry.

Science and industry.

Relationships

People

Family

Macdonald, Margaret Taylor

Wife.

Macdonald, Nina

Daughter.

Macdonald, Ross

Son.

Macdonald, Taylor

Son.

Colleagues

Hilberry, Norman, 1899-

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory.

Zinn, Walter H. (Walter Henry), 1906-2000

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory.

Institutions

Major Positions

Argonne National Laboratory

Associate Physicist, Chemistry Division.

Armour Research Foundation (U.S.)

Associate Physicist to Physicist.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Radiation Laboratory

Assistant.

Texas Instruments Incorporated

Research Physicist, Semiconductor and Solid State Physics; Director, Solid State Physics Research; Director, Physics Research Laboratory; Director, Central Research Laboratories; Director, Corporate Research and Engineering; Vice President, Corporate Research and Engineering; Manager, Objectives Strategies and Tactics System; Vice President, Corporate Research and Development; and Consultant.

United States. Navy

Technical Radar-Radio Officer.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Department of Physics and Astronomy

William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics and William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Physics.

University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas

Adjunct Associate Professor of Biophysics and Adjunct Professor of Biophysics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Institute of Physics

Member, Governing Board.

American Physical Society

Member, Committee on Education; Member, Committee on Applications of Physics; and received 1985 George E. Pake Prize.

Harvard University. Department of Physics

Took classes.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Obtained SB (1944) and SM (1947), and took graduate physics courses.

National Academy of Engineering

Member and Member, Council.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member; Member, Solid State Sciences Panel; Member, Committee on Science Engineering and Public Policy; Member, Commission on Physical Sciences Mathematics and Resources; Secretary, Class III; and Chair, Numerical Data Advisory Board, National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering.

National Research Council (U.S.)

Simmonds Precision Products, Inc.

Consultant and Member, Board of Directors.

University of Oxford. Department of Physics

Obtained DPhil in Physics (1950).

Williams College. Department of Physics

Obtained BA (1944).

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

J. Ross Macdonald oral history conducted by IEEE History Center, May 7, 1993

History Center

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, NY, 10016-5997 USA

J. Ross Macdonald papers, 1932-1989.

Center for American History. University Archives

University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX 78713, USA

Reports on industrial impressions of graduate education in physics presented at an American Physical Society meeting, 1976.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

University-industry interactions [sound recording], 1973.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA