Inductees September 21, 2007
Left to Right: Nathan Ballou, Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin, Sonja Rasmussen, Mylan Radulovich, Terrence Tumpey, Thys Johnson, and Dean James P. Riehl
Dr. Terrence M. Tumpey: Bachelor of Arts – Biology 1986
Terrence M. Tumpey, PhD, is a Senior Microbiologist for the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Tumpey earned his Bachelor of Arts
degree in biology from the University of Minnesota Duluth and his PhD in
immunology from the University of South Alabama School of Medicine in
Mobile. While pursuing his doctorate, Dr. Tumpey lectured at the university
and was awarded the Lions Eye Research Institute/USA Grant-in-Aid Award in
both 1994 and 1995. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the CDC where he twice
received the Nakano Award for Outstanding Research Paper. Later, serving the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a microbiologist in the Southeast
Poultry Research Laboratory in Athens, Georgia. Dr. Tumpey has been with the
CDC Influenza Branch since 2003.
Dr. Sonja A. Rasmussen: Bachelor of Science – Mathematics 1981, Bachelor of Science – Biology 1981
Dr. Sonja A. Rasmussen received her BS magna cum laude from UMD in
mathematics and biology in 1981. She went on to receive an MS in medical
genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MD with honors from
the University of Florida College of Medicine. She completed her pediatrics
residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and her fellowship
training in clinical genetics at Johns Hopkins University and the University
of Florida before moving on to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta in 1998. She is board-certified in pediatrics,
clinical genetics, and genetic counseling.
Dr. Rasmussen’s work has focused on the molecular genetics of
neurofibromatosis, identification of genetic and environmental risk factors
for birth defects, and mortality associated with genetic conditions.
Currently she is a Senior Scientist at CDC’s National Center on Birth
Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
Dr. Nathan Ballou: Bachelor of Science – Chemistry 1941
Dr. Nathan Ballou studied chemistry, physics, math, and German at Duluth
State Teacher’s College. After graduating from DSTC in spring 1941,
Dr. Ballou went to the University of Illinois to work on his doctorate in
chemistry. He vividly remembers sitting in his dorm room on a Sunday
afternoon with some of his classmates and hearing the announcement of the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That spring he was recruited to work on the
Manhattan Project in Chicago.
After the war ended, Dr. Ballou returned to the University of Chicago and
completed his PhD in 1947. He then went to the University of California at
Berkeley to work as a postdoctoral fellow with Glenn Seaborg. From there he
went on to work at the U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (NRDL) in
San Francisco; the Belgium Nuclear Energy Center, Brussels; and the Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory operated by Battele in Richland, Washington,
where, at age 87, he still works today. Dr. Ballou conducts research in
radiochemistry, mass spectrometry, and new analytical techniques.
Dr. Thys B. Johnson: Department Director Emeritus, Professor Emeritus
Dr. Thys B. Johnson received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in mining
engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 1956 and 1958.
He worked in Duluth with U.S. Steel Corporation in the Minnesota Ore
Operations until 1964; then worked with the U.S. Bureau of Mines until 1972.
During this time, he also pursued his PhD in Operations Research, receiving
his degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1968. From 1972
until 1985, he served as Professor of Mining Engineering at Colorado School
of Mines, including an 11-year stint as department head. In 1985, Dr.
Johnson returned to Duluth to be the Associate Director of the Minerals
Division of the new Natural Resources Research Institute at UMD. He served
as Director of the Center for Applied Research and Technology Development at
NRRI from 1987 until his retirement in 1998. He has been a Professor in the
Department of Industrial Engineering since 1988, and he served as Acting
Department Head in 1989-90.
Although he officially retired in 1998, Dr. Johnson still teaches the IE
3115 Operations Research each year as Professor Emeritus in the Department
of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. He has made many contributions to
the mining industry throughout North America, but perhaps his greatest
contributions have been with helping establish the NRRI and with setting the
path of progress for the field of industrial engineering at UMD.
Mr. Mylan Radulovich: Bachelor of Arts – Physics 1960
Mylan Radulovich graduated from Morgan Park High School and entered UMD in
1955, completing degrees in physics and mathematics. His first job after UMD
was with Korad Corporation in California working on the recently developed
laser with one of its inventors. He returned to Minnesota a few years later
to complete a Master's degree in electrical engineering on the Twin Cities
campus, studying laser action in ruby. He continued his graduate studies and
worked with Korad until 1970 when he moved to Texas and began a 30-year
association with Exxon, which has taken him to many places around the world.
While officially retiring in 1998, he continued as a consultant to Esso
Norway to assist in the final phases of the Balder project.