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Dr. McDonald was a scientist and a person of most unusual qualities.
He was a voracious reader and had an encyclopedic memory. There were
few scientific subjects which escaped at least partial scrutiny and
in many areas, his knowledge made him an authority. Anyone who
encountered Dr. McDonald in his pursuit of information will surely
recall his relentless pursuit of knowledge and understanding.
Dr. McDonald's contributions to atmospheric sciences extended far
beyond the contents of his published papers. He was a brilliant
teacher and lecturer. His courses in cloud and precipitation physics
were outstanding in content, challenging in presentation, successful
in exciting interest and curiosity, sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm
and often lightened with humor. In his lectures, he invariably
impressed audiences with his attention to details and his
extensive documentation.
One of Dr. McDonald's early important papers published in 1954 dealt
with the shape of raindrops (JOURNAL OF METEOROLOGY). During the
Fifties and Sixties he published a series of articles dealing
with problems of cloud physics, particularly nucleation and other
aspects of physical meteorology. The subject of radiation and
atmospheric optics was one of his favorites. Of particular note are
his works in the field of weather modification. In 1958 he wrote a
lengthy article entitled "The physics of cloud modification"
(Advances in Geophysics, Vol. 5) which serves as a standard reference
on this subject.
Dr. McDonald had a major impact on the atmospheric sciences as a
result of his service on the Panel on Weather and Climate
Modification of the National Academy of Sciences. His work with this
group tells much about the man. He joined it just after an early
preliminary report gave a pessimistic view on the status of the
subject. Dr. McDonald tended to share this view with the general
community of atmospheric scientists. On the other hand, certain
scientists, particularly those associated with operational
cloud-seeding organizations, strongly objected to the negative tone
of the report. Dr. McDonald agreed to carry out a careful examination
of data and reports of a large number of cloud-seeding projects,
particularly those conducted by commercial operators. As a result, he
convinced himself and the Panel that there was reason for optimism
about the efficacy of procedures for increasing precipitation by
means of ice-nuclei seeding. This notion, expressed in the Panel's
final report in 1966, had a marked effect on the progress of weather
modification in the United States. Subsequent research has supported
and extended the earlier optimistic views.
During the past year he played a crucial role on the Project
Stormfury Advisory Panel as it sought to evaluate the results of
experiments aimed at reducing the intensity of hurricanes.
A member of the AMS since 1944, Dr. McDonald served on the
Publications Commission from 1958 to 1961 and during 1966. He
participated in the Committee on Water Resources from 1961 to 1965
and the Committee on the History of the Atmospheric Sciences from
1967 to 1970.
Not surprisingly. Dr. McDonald had strong opinions on the problems of
society and was often involved in public debates on such important
questions as those dealing with civil rights and racial problems.
Most recently, he was deeply committed to the analysis of the
effects of SST emissions on the atmosphere. He spent hundreds of
hours studying the relevant printed material and consulting with
experts in many related disciplines. Having concluded that SST
emissions could reduce ozone concentrations, increase ultraviolet
radiation reaching the Earth and lead to increases in the frequency
of skin cancer, he did his utmost to convince other scientists,
laymen and politicians that the SST represented a danger to
society.
Over the last few years. Dr. McDonald gave considerable attention to
the analysis of reports of Unidentified Flying Objects. As was his
custom, he approached the problem as a scientific one, he studied
all available information and evidence, he interviewed hundreds of
people and made detailed analyses of possible explanations. This
investigation brought him into conflict with certain scientists and
engineers. He maintained that the pursuit of satisfactory
explanations for UFO reports represented an important scientific
problem which was not getting adequate attention. He found few allies
in this scientific quest, and many of the relevant questions still
remain unanswered.
Dr. McDonald was a man of integrity and great courage. He was loved
and admired by a great many people, he was respected by everyone who
stopped to listen, he made a lasting impact on many facets of the
atmospheric sciences and society, and he will be missed much more
than we now realize.
- Louis J. Battan
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James E. McDonald, professor of atmospheric sciences at the
Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona and
AMS Fellow, died on 13 June 1971. Dr. McDonald was born on
7 May 1920 in Duluth, Minn. He earned the B.A. degree at the
University of Omaha in 1942, the M.S. degree at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in 1945 and the Doctor of Philosophy degree
at Iowa State University in 1951. During World War II he served in
the Navy as an aerologist, was a meteorology instructor at MIT,
and reached the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. Dr. McDonald spent
1953 at the University of Chicago before joining the staff of the
Institute of Atmospheric Physics in 1954 as the associate
director. He later relinquished this post to devote all his time
to teaching and research.