Dr. Harry McDonald

McDonald Named Interim UT Research Vice President

Dr. Harry McDonald, former head of the NASA-Ames Research Center and a distinguished professor at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was named interim vice president for research of the UT system recently. UT President John W. Shumaker announced the appointment, effective immediately. McDonald succeeds Dr. T. Dwayne McCay, who has accepted the position of provost at Florida Institute of Technology.

"Dr. McDonald is known internationally for his work in computer applications. Moving our research and development activities into the marketplace has very significant implications for economic development in Tennessee and the nation," Shumaker said.

An advisory committee will be named to assist in identifying candidates for the permanent appointment, according to Shumaker.

McDonald holds the Chair of Excellence in Computational Engineering in the Computer Simulation and Design Center at UTC. He will continue to be directly involved in launching the SimCenter in Chattanooga.

In 1985, McDonald earned a doctorate in engineering from the University of Glasgow. He served as Center Director at the NASA Ames Research Center in the heart of Silicon Valley for seven years. Ames has about 4,500 employees, civil service and contractors. It is considered the lead NASA research institution for supercomputing, information science and technology and nanotechnology.