Richard Thorne

My Life Story Richard Mansergh Thorne was born in Birmingham, England on July 25, 1942 to Robert George Thorne and Dorothy Goodchild Thorne. Robert was working as an Aeronautical Engineer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. After the war, the family moved to Farnborough, Hampshire, southwest of London, where they eventually settled into their home (“Dunoon”) on Minley Road. Growing up in post-war years, Richard remembered enjoying his first taste of “sweets” at ten years old, when a visiting Australian pilot gave him a chocolate bar and chewing gum. About his grammar school days, he said the only class he really enjoyed was math, and he quickly began to understand more than the teachers, so he spent much of his time playing sports. Richard received an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematical Physics from Birmingham University, England in 1963 and a Ph.D. in Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968, based on his research into the distribution of interstellar gas in the galaxy. He joined the Meteorology Faculty at UCLA in 1968, and in 2000 he was promoted to Distinguished Professor. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2000. Richard has been a consultant to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Aerospace Corporation and the Southwest Research Institute and was a member of the Galileo Energetic Particle Detector team. Until his passing, he was a Co-investigator and chair of the Radiation Working Group on the NASA’s JUNO mission to Jupiter and a Co-investigator and theory lead on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes-ECT (energetic particles) and EMFISIS (waves) teams. He has made numerous pioneering and significant research contributions to the fundamental understanding of wave-particle interactions in the field of space plasma physics. Although a very successful “Rocket Man,” Richard was a humble, charming and fun man. He is survived by his wife, Monica; brother, Michael; sons: Peter, Michael, and Thomas; and grandchildren: Malia, John, and Shaelyn. Richard is also survived by loving brothers- and sisters-in-law, with whom he had close relationships, and many nieces and nephews.A Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, July 19th at 11:00 A.M. at Holy Apostles Catholic Church, 6300 N. Meridian Rd. in Meridian. Remembrances may be left for Richard's family on his webpage at www.AccentFuneral.com. Services are under the direction of Accent Funeral Home and Cremation, Meridian. (208) 888-5833 *Please see "Service Information" tab for service details. *