James M. Turner (physicist)

James Turner was raised in Washington, D.C., and attended Gonzaga College High School. He completed his undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, and received his doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.{{Cite web |title=Spotlight on Commerce: Dr. James Turner, Director of the Office of International Affairs |url=https://2010-2014.commerce.gov/blog/2012/02/27/spotlight-commerce-dr-james-turner-director-office-international-affairs.html |access-date=2023-05-10 |work=United States Department of Commerce |date=February 27, 2012}}

While at MIT, Turner was a co-founder and one of the first co-chairs of the university's Black Students' Union, along with fellow students Charles Kidwell, Shirley Ann Jackson, Ronald E. Mickens, Sekazi Mtingwa, Jennifer Rudd, Nathan Seely, and Linda Sharpe. In 1968, the group issued the following demands to the MIT administration: "an increase in the number of black students and staff, as well as support for these students; the formation of a pre-freshman summer program (Project Interphase); and the development of a Task Force on Educational Opportunity."{{Cite web |publisher=Black Alumni of MIT |date=July 21, 2017 |title=Reflections of an MIT Student Activist |url=https://medium.com/bamit-review/reflections-of-an-mit-student-activist-a52c72406f36 |access-date=2023-05-22 |work=BAMIT Review |first=Waayl Ahmad |last=Salih |via=Medium}}{{Cite news |date=2018-10-30 |title=The BSU at 50 |url=https://news.mit.edu/2018/mit-black-students-union-50th-anniversary-1030 |access-date=2023-05-22 |work=MIT News |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |first=Alice |last=Waugh}}

After completing his doctoral studies, Turner was on the faculty of Southern University and Morehouse College in the physics department. At Morehouse, he was an Associate Professor of Physics and Engineering for five years beginning in 1973.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|226656416}} |title=400 Freshmen, 9 New Profs At Morehouse |newspaper=New York Amsterdam News |date=22 September 1973 |page=B9 }} As a professor there, he was advisor to the college's chapter of the Sigma Pi Sigma student society.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|491477441}} |title=Morehouse College Students Present Scientific Papers |newspaper=Atlanta Daily World |date=23 December 1976 |page=6 }} During this time, he was also a member of the Committee on Opportunities in Science for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as on similar committees for the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|491460569}} |title=Physics Papers Of Morehouse Professor |newspaper=Atlanta Daily World |date=2 March 1976 |page=5 }}

Turner subsequently began a career in federal government that would last 37 years. He served as Senior Executive Service and served as the Assistant Deputy Administrator for Nuclear Risk Reduction in the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. He also served as a deputy director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology beginning in April 2007; and was later director in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of International Affairs and Senior Adviser to the NOAA Administrator. He retired from the NOAA in 2013.

Turner is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society, the American Nuclear Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ASTM, the Council on Foreign Relations, IEEE, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi.{{Cite web |title=AllGov - Officials |url=http://www.allgov.com/officials/turner-james?officialid=28409 |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=AllGov |first=David |last=Wallechinsky}} He is currently director of the Daniel Alexander Payne Community Development Corporation Percy Julian Institute.{{Cite news |title=Howard University Graduate School to Host the 2019 Annual Edward Bouchet National Graduate Forum, Sept 11-12 |url=https://thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/howard-university-graduate-school-host-2019-annual-edward-bouchet-national-graduate-forum-sept-11-12 |access-date=2023-05-22 |work=The Dig |publisher=Howard University |first1=Jamie |last1=Triplin |first2=Imani |last2=Pope-Johns |date=September 9, 2019}}

• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• U.S. Government Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service{{Cite web |title=Colloquium Topic: African-American Technological Contributions: Past, Present, and Future |url=https://www.jhuapl.edu/colloquium/Archive/Detail?colloqid=25 |access-date=2023-05-22 |work=Applied Physics Laboratory |publisher=Johns Hopkins University |date=February 20, 2008}}
• DOE Exceptional Service Award
• Secretary of Energy Gold Award
• Edward Bouchet Legacy Award (2019)

Turner is married and has three children and five grandchildren.{{Cite web |last=Conyers |first=Grace |date=20 November 2013 |title=James Turner: 5 things about a senior scientist |url=https://www.aaas.org/james-turner-5-things-about-senior-scientist |access-date=16 May 2023 |website=American Association for the Advancement of Science}}

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Category:Living people

Category:American physicists

Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni

Category:Morehouse College faculty

Category:National Institute of Standards and Technology people

Category:United States Department of Energy officials

Category:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel

Category:African-American physicists