Jonathan F. Ormes
Professor, Research; Adjunct Faculty
What I do
Dr. Jonathan F. Ormes is a Research Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Denver. Formerly Dr. Ormes was the Director of Space Sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center from 2000 until 2004.Recently, Jonathan has been exploring issues related to population, affluence and climate change. On retirement, he decided he wanted to do something “more relevant” to his fellow humans so he turned his attention to the complex science of climate change. In the Spring quarter of 2016 he developed and taught an upper-division level course on Physics of Climate. He also teaches adult classes on the climate at the Academy for Lifelong Learning and for the Learners group at Wind Crest, the retirement community where he currently resides.
Professional Biography
Ormes received a BS in physics from Stanford University and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota in 1967. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. His research career involved studies of the origin and characteristics of the relativistic particles that pervade galaxies and their high energy gamma-ray emissions. As a research professor at DU (since 2004) he has been active studying antimatter and other aspects of galactic cosmic rays. He is the author and co-author of more than 150 experimental and theoretical refereed papers.
