Dr James E. Mcdonald was probably one of the most important figures ever in the history of Ufology - he was also the Senior Physicist at the Institute for Atmospherical Physics and Professor at the Department of Meteorology at the University of Arizona.

Theres an interesting biography below detailing his work and research into the UFO subject -
it also mentions his feelings about the reliability (and intellectual honesty) of certain
'government conclusions and explanations' regarding specific UFO incidents:

Privately, McDonald analyzed all Project Blue Book case files, convincing him that the Air Force had performed an entirely inadequate investigation, which appeared to have been more concerned with internal politics rather than real science. He also reviewed the cases of the Air Force's sponsored University of Colorado UFO study, and concluded that many of their explanations were not well founded either.

Biography:
www.nicap.org...

DR. JAMES E. McDONALD'S UFO FILES

The voluminous UFO research files of a fearless scientist. Dr. James E. McDonald, have lain in a special "UFO room" at his home in Tucson, Arizona for twenty-five years, lovingly protected by members of his family. McDonald was a high-profile contributor to scientific UFO research, beginning in the Spring of 1966 and continuing until his tragic death in June 1971.

Jim McDonald was a top atmospheric physicist. His official title was "Senior Physicist" at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

VIDEOS:UFO HUNTERS - THE LOST UFO FILES:

What secrets lie buried in the never-before-seen files of a famous UFO investigator? In the early 1950's, James McDonald, a senior physicist at the University of Arizona, changed the entire course of UFO research. For nearly 20 years he examined UFO reports in great detail - interviewing over 500 witnesses, uncovering important government documents, and testifying before Congress in 1968. He challenged skeptics, performed scientific analysis, and led the charge for UFOs to be properly studied. After his tragic death in 1971, his investigations and files were sent to the University archives, where they lay dormant...until now.
The team brings these lost UFO files back into the public eye for the first time on television, and looks at evidence long thought lost to history.

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"I have been studying now for about 2 years, on a rather intensive basis, the UFO problem. I have interviewed several hundred witnesses in selected cases, and I am astonished at what I have found".
Dr James McDonald -Senior physicist at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics and professor in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Arizona - Oral statement to House Committee on Science and Astronautics at July 29, 1968




"The type of UFO reports that are most intriguing are close-range sightings of machine-like objects of unconventional nature and unconventional performance characteristics, seen at low altitudes, and sometimes even on the ground. The general public is entirely unaware of the large number of such reports that are coming from credible witnesses... When one starts searching for such cases, their number are quite astonishing. Also, such sightings appear to be occurring all over the globe."
(Hearings before the Committee on Science and Astronautics, U.S. House of Representatives, July 29, 1968.)
Dr. James E. McDonald, Senior Physicist at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona.




"As a result of several trips to project Bluebook,I´ve had an opportunity to examine quite carefully and in detail the types of reports that are made by Bluebook personnel. In most cases,I have found that theres almost no correlation between so-called "evaluations and explanations" that are made by Bluebook and the facts of the case...
There are hundreds of good cases in the Air Force files that should have led to top-level scientific scrutiny of this problem,years ago,yet these cases have been swept under the rug in a most disturbing way by Project Bluebook investigators and their consultants."
Dr James McDonald -Senior physicist at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics and professor in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Arizona




"Based upon unreliable and unscientific surmises as data, the Air Force develops elaborate statistical findings which seem impressive to the uninitiated public unschooled in the fallacies of the statistical method. One must conclude that the highly publicized Air Force pronouncements based upon unsound statistics serve merely to misrepresent the true character of the UFO phenomena."
Yale Scientific Magazine (Yale University) Volume XXXVII, Number 7, April 1963




"Project Blue Book was ballyhooed by the Air Force as a full-fledged top-priority operation. It was no such thing. The staff, in a sense, was a joke. In terms of scientific training and numbers, it was highly inadequate to the task. And the methods used were positively archaic. And that is the crack operation that the general public believes looked adequately into the UFO phenomenon".
Dr J Allen Hynek, Chairman of the Department of Astronomy at Northwestern University and scientific consultant for Air Force investigations of UFOs from 1948 until 1969 (Projects Sign, Grudge and Blue Book).




"My study of past official Air Force investigations (Project Blue Book) leads me to describe them as completely superficial. Officially released 'explanations' of important UFO sightings have been almost absurdly erroneous."
Senior Atmospherical Physicist Dr James McDonald, speech to American Meteorological Society 1966

Interview with Dr. James E. McDonald who discusses the Portage County incident and the subsequent 'unbeleivable' USAF conclusion:

September 24, 1968 Lecture,

"UFOs: A Case Study in Public Mis-information"
at Kent State University, Ohio