Paul J. Coleman Jr. (March 7, 1932 – April 6, 2019) was an American

space scientist The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science: Space science encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and physical bodies In common usage ...

, NASA veteran, professor of

space physics Space physics, also known as solar-terrestrial physics or space-plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere (aeronomy) and within the Solar System. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of ...

at the University of California, Los Angeles and founding chairman of the Girvan Institute of Technology. Coleman was also a co-founder of '' JumpStartFund'', an online

crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...

platform. He was awarded two

Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal The NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (abbreviated ESAM) was established by NASA on September 15, 1961, when the original ESM was divided into three separate awards. Under the current guidelines, the ESAM is awarded for unusually sign ...

by NASA, one in 1970 for his contributions to the exploration of the Solar System and the other in 1972 for his contributions to the exploration of the Moon. In 1975 he was elected in the International Academy of Astronautics. He was a

John Simon Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and a Senior Fulbright Scholar from 1975 to 1976. P From 1981 to 2000, he was president and CEO of the USRA. In 1985, Dr. Coleman was appointed by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

to the National Commission on Space; in 1991, he was appointed by Vice President Dan Quayle to the Space policy Advisory Board. In 2004, he was recognized by '' Space News'', as one of ten "Innovators and visionaries" who "made a difference' in the global space enterprise over the preceding fifteen years".

Early life and career

Coleman held BS Engineering degrees in mathematics and physics, an MS degree in physics, and a PhD in space physics. He served two years as a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

in the United States Air Force, with duty in Europe, South Korea, and Turkey from 1954 to 1956. His early professional experience included positions at the

Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation TRW Inc., was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, automotive, and credit reporting.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-History.html TRW Inc. It was a pioneer ...

(acquired by Northrop Grumman) and at the headquarters of the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

in Washington, D.C., as manager of NASA's interplanetary sciences program. In 1965, he joined the faculty at UCLA. There, with Dr. T.A. Farley, he established a laboratory for research in space physics. In the course of his research on

charged particles In physics, a charged particle is a particle with an electric charge. It may be an ion, such as a molecule or atom with a surplus or deficit of electrons relative to protons. It can also be an electron or a proton, or another elementary pa ...

and electric and magnetic fields in space, he worked with the Explorer, OGO and ATS series of

satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...

, the Pioneer series of deep-space probes, the Mariner series of planetary spacecraft, Apollo's 15 and 17, and ''

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

''. He wrote or collaborated in writing more than 150 articles on research in the space sciences and developments in space technology.

References

External links

NASA Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Paul J. 1932 births 2019 deaths Scientists from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois NASA people University of California, Los Angeles faculty