Donald M. Bird

Dr. Donald M. Bird is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and former Head of the Department of Chemistry, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado. Dr. Bird served as a civilian faculty member from December 1993, when he retired from active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel, until June 2014 when he retired from Civil Service. During his assignments at the Academy, Dr. Bird taught courses in organic chemistry, biochemistry, polymer chemistry, and general chemistry. While on active duty, Dr. Bird served as an aircrew navigator, instructor navigator, standardization/evaluation navigator, Post Attack Command and Control System Operations Planner, and as an Emergency War Order Planner in support of KC- and EC-135 operations at Grissom AFB, McConnell AFB, and with the Wisconsin Air National Guard at General Billy Mitchell Field in Milwaukee, WI.

Dr. Bird was commissioned through Officer Training School in October 1971, after completing both his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and his Master of Science degree in Food Technology at the University of Illinois. Under Air Force sponsorship, he completed his PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Colorado in 1987. Dr. Bird has published research related to the chemistry of anti-tumor drugs, waste water recycling in space environments, and the use of ionic liquids to neutralize chemical warfare agents. Dr. Bird also supported Air Force athletics as the Officer Representative for both the baseball and football teams.

In retirement, Dr. Bird continues to serve as a peer reviewer and team chair for The Higher Learning Commission, the regional accrediting body that accredits the United States Air Force Academy and more than 1,100 other schools in a 19-state region in the central United States. Dr. Bird is chairman of the board of directors of the Air Academy Federal Credit Union and now also serves on the board of trustees for Ashford University.