Thomas Adamson, Jr. :::
Thomas Adamson, Jr.
Graduated in 1942
Inducted in 2000
After graduation from LTHS in 1942, Dr. Adamson spent three years in the Army. In 1949 he
received a bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University. He then earned a
master's degree and a doctorate in Aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology, where
he was a Guggenheim Fellow and worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He joined the Department of
Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan in 1954. He became a full professor in 1961 and
received the University of Michigan Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award in 1980. He served as
Chairman of the Department from 1983 to 1992 and oversaw the design and construction of the
Fran'ois-Xavier Bagnoud Building, a state-of-the-art building containing offices, classrooms, and
laboratories. He was a founding member and chairman of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Aerospace
Prize Board, which administers the awarding of a $250,000 prize given biennially. He also serves as
a member of the Board of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Foundation USA, a philanthropic organization.
During his career, he taught and conducted research in propulsion, combustion, and fluid mechanics.
He has published over 85 refereed articles, conference reports, and research and industrial
reports, and was co-editor of a book. He consulted with several industrial concerns; this work
included analyses for experiments done on the moon. He has lectured internationally, including a
tour for AGARD, the scientific arm of NATO, and served on government committees for NASA, the
National Research Council-National Academy of Sciences, and other national committees. He is a
Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and serves on the Board of the
Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame. Dr. Adamson retired in 1993 and is now Professor Emeritus.