James Duderstadt

James Johnson Duderstadt (December 5, 1942 – August 21, 2024) was an American nuclear physicist and academic administrator. He served as the eleventh president of the University of Michigan from 1988 to 1996 and as the tenth dean of the University of Michigan College of Engineering from 1981 to 1986.

Duderstadt was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1987 for significant contributions to nuclear science and engineering relating to fission and fusion energy systems and reactor theory and design.

On April 30, 2015, the National Science Board announced that James Duderstadt would receive its Vannevar Bush Award. Duderstadt was recognized for his leadership in science and technology and his substantial contributions to the welfare of the nation through public service activities in science, technology and public policy.

He held the title of president emeritus and University Professor of Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan.

Biography James Johnson Duderstadt was born on December 5, 1942, in Fort Madison, Iowa, and was raised in Carrollton, Missouri. He received a B.A. from Yale University in 1964, and an M.S. in 1965 and a PhD in 1968 from California Institute of Technology. At Caltech, he studied under nuclear physicist Noel Corngold.

In 1972, he worked for the NASA Lewis Research Center, then for the U.S. Army Missile Command from 1973 to 1975, and eventually for the Argonne National Laboratory from 1975 to 1979. He and his wife, Anne Lock-Duderstadt, lived in the university's President's House.

He served on the boards of National Science Foundation, the Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee of the Department of Energy, the Big Ten Athletic Conference, the University of Michigan Hospitals, Unisys, CMS Energy, and the Glion Colloquium, among others.

The main library on the University of Michigan's North Campus is named The James and Anne Duderstadt Center (commonly referred as "The Dude") in honor of Duderstadt and his wife, Anne ("Ma Dude"). Formerly called the Media Union, it houses the Art, Architecture & Engineering Library and also contains computer clusters, audio and video editing laboratories, galleries, and studios, as well as usability and various digital media laboratories, including virtual reality. The Millennium Project, which focuses on the future of the university learning environment and is where Duderstadt maintained an appointment as an emeritus professor, is also housed in the Duderstadt Center.

Duderstadt died on August 21, 2024, at the age of 81.