Oral History: Richard J. Thome (2016)

Richard J. Thome was born in Buffalo, New York on 17 September 1940. He grew up in Buffalo and graduated from Hutchinson Central Technical High School. Thome continued his education at Syracuse University, earning a B.M.E. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. He is a member of the IEEE Council on Superconductivity; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; and Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society. He has spent his career working in both industry and academia.

Thome started his career working with ZJT Stekly on the development of theories of stability in superconducting magnets and on trade studies for various potential applications for superconductors then under development at Avco Everett Research Laboratory in Everett, Massachusetts (1966 to 1967). Then he was responsible for the design and fabrication of superconducting and conventional magnetic systems at Magnetic Corporation of America, first as Senior Research Engineer, 1969 to 1973 and then as Vice President, 1978 to 1978. After spending more than ten years in industry, Thome started employment at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he devoted his time to research, but shared teaching graduate and external courses on various facets of electromagnetic systems design. One assignment took him to Japan for approximately five years as Head of Superconducting Coils and Structures Division for the ITER Project. He was responsible for the ITER division charged with the design of the superconducting coil systems and associated structures and with the coordination of the $225M R&D program among the four parties (European Union, Japan, Russian Federation, and United States). Thome returned to industry as the Senior Technical Advisor at General Atomics, Inc. from 2000 to 2012 where he provided technical and management review of superconductivity projects. Most recently, Thome founded RJ Thome Consulting Services, providing advice on research, management, and the business development in superconducting and conventional electromechanical systems for applications and in mechanical and electrical engineering.

Professionally active, Thome authored a textbook, MHD and Fusion Magnets: Field & Force Design Concepts, which has been translated into Russian and published more than ninety papers on various aspects of the design, construction, and special applications for superconducting and conventional magnetic systems. In October 2015, he received the IEEE Council on Superconductivity Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity.

In this interview, Richard J. Thome discusses growing up in Buffalo, New York as well as his family, education, employment in academia and industry, and the science, technology and economic developments in the field of superconductivity.