The Passing of Henry McDonald

A message from the NASA Ames Center Director Eugene Tu

Ames family,
It’s with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that I inform you of the passing of former Ames Center Director Dr. Henry (Harry) McDonald. Harry was the eighth center director, serving from 1996 to 2002.
Harry arrived at Ames with the charge from Administrator Daniel Goldin to take our center into the 21st century and leverage the fact that Ames is located in one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial regions in the world, Silicon Valley. Harry brought to Ames his decades of experience in both academia and industry. As an expert in computational aerodynamics, people at Ames knew and respected his work even before he arrived. Harry was extremely well regarded across Ames and NASA, and was a personal mentor to me and many of us in senior leadership here.

On a personal note, he was instrumental in my career development and selected me for key opportunities to lead the High-Performance Computing and Communications and Information Technology programs for Ames, NASA, and the nation.
I’ve tried to carry on his inestimable legacy at the helm of NASA Ames. I will always be indebted to Harry for his leadership, mentorship, and friendship during the time he served as our center director and in the years since.
Eugene Tu
Center Director