Thomas M. Donahue, Edward H. White II Distinguished University Professor of Planetary Science, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences in the College of Engineering, and professor of physics in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, will retire from active faculty status on May 31, 1994.
Professor Donahue received his AB. degree from Rockhurst College in 1942 and his Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1947. He held positions at Johns Hopkins until 1951, when he joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh. There he organized a program in atomic physics and atmospheric science that led to studies of the upper atmosphere with instruments flown on sounding rockets and spacecraft. At Pittsburgh, he became associate professor in 1953 and served as director of both the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Sciences and the Space Coordination Center.
In 1974, Professor Donahue joined the University of Michigan as professor and chair of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences; he served as chair until 1980 and was appointed professor of physics in 1989. Professor Donahue has participated in the Orbiting Geophysical Observatory, Voyager, Pioneer Venus, Galileo, and Cassini spacecraft missions and is the author of more than 150 publications.
He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the International Academy of Astronautics and is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His honors include the Arctowski Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the John Adam Fleming Medal of the American Geophysical Union, the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, and the Space Science Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. At the University of Michigan, he was the Henry Russel Lecturer in 1986 and received the Stephen S. Attwood Award for Excellence in Engineering in 1994.
Professor Donahue knows as much about the planets, especially Venus, as anyone in the world today. His brilliance is legendary, both as an experimentalist and as a theoretician. He has served on numerous national advisory boards and has held visiting titles at major institutions. Professor Donahue has also served on countless University committees and programs, including the Project for the Integrated Study of Global Change.
Faculty History Project
