Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson V, USN ret
Technical Co-Chair
Rear Admiral Donaldson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1975, and enjoyed a thirty-year career serving in a variety of sea, shore and leadership positions. His career involved a unique blend of Surface, Submarine, Aviation and Meteorology and Oceanography (METOC) assignments, culminating in command of the METOC community which involved 3000 personnel, seven Oceanographic Survey ships and two supercomputer Centers.
After retiring in 2004, he became the Director of NASA’s Stennis Space Center, in Mississippi, home to over sixty federal, State, military and private organizations employing over 6000 people. During his tenure as Director, NASA returned the Space Shuttle Program to flight. After Hurricane Katrina’s direct impact on Stennis Space Center, he was assigned as Special Assistant to the Governor to help the six coastal counties of Mississippi in their immediate recovery efforts.
From 2006 – 2010, he led the business development efforts at Applied Energetics, in Tucson, AZ promoting high-voltage and pulse-power laser technologies. In 2011, he became Executive Director of the Energetics Technology Center, in Maryland, a non-profit, Science and Technology Center closely aligned with the University of Maryland. He retired from that position in 2012 to start a Small Business, LuminArt, LLC which involves stained glass and painted art that glow at night.
Admiral Donaldson holds Graduate Degrees in Meteorology, Physical Oceanography, National Strategic Studies and Business Administration, and he is a frequent contributor to the U.S. Naval Institute’s professional publication, Proceedings.