Michael David Allison

Michael David Allison

Areas of Expertise

Michael David Allison, American Space scientist, astronomy educator. Achievements include research in planetary atmospheric dynamics and meteorology, application of potential vorticity homogenization to planetary zonal circulation studies, first identification of Saturn’s polar hexagon as a planetary Rossby wave, inference of a probable super-solar abundance of water on Jupiter based on the diagnostic analysis of equatorial waves.

 

Education

A.B.   Physics and English.  Wittenberg University (1973)

S.M.  Physics.  University of Chicago (1976)

Ph.D. Space Physics and Astronomy.  Rice University (1982)

NASA publications https://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/authors/mallison.html

 

Career

Michael Allison was for many years on the senior staff at the NASA / Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, working on planetary atmospheric dynamics and spaceflight mission planning.  He served on the science teams of several planetary flight projects, including the Cassini / Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan, and the Juno Jupiter orbiter mission.  Also devoted to communication and outreach, he has taught public education classes at the Hayden Planetarium, both graduate and undergraduate courses at Columbia University, and will be teaching a Williams Winter Study Program course in 2023.  He is a member of the International Astronomical Union and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society.