meteorologist physicist president
Abdullah earned his Doctor of Science. degree in meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1946, before being appointed head of the Iraqi Teacher Association, and then chairman of the Department of Physics, College of Education, Baghdad.
In 1952, he became a visiting research professor in meteorology at New York University, and in 1965 he joined the National Center for Atmospheric as a scientific visitor. In his memoir, nuclear physicist Khidir Hamza claims Abdullah not only taught him, but was also instrumental in getting the former into Massachusetts Institute of Technology to pursue a master"s degree in nuclear engineering after Hamza"s initial rejection by the institute. Khidir Hamza later became part of Iraq"s nuclear research program, before defecting to the United States and testifying on the program before the Senate.
He was imprisoned for nearly a year but was released and later permitted to travel to the United States.
There he held professorial and research posts at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and the State University of New York in Albany. He died in 1969.
Abdullah"s research interests included cloud stratification, solitary waves, and pressure pumps.
Abdul Jabbar Abdullah is highly regarded by Iraqis, who commemorated his 100th birthday in Iraq and in the diaspora. A hall in the University of Baghdad is named after him as well as numerous streets.
