Douglas J. Mink is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 software developer

Software developer

A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...

 and a data archivist

Archivist

An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...

 at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is one of the largest and most diverse astrophysical institutions in the world, where scientists carry out a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, earth and space sciences, and science education...

. Mink was part of the team that discovered the rings around the planet Uranus

Rings of Uranus

The planet Uranus has a system of rings intermediate in complexity between the more extensive set around Saturn and the simpler systems around Jupiter and Neptune. The rings of Uranus were discovered on March 10, 1977, by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Douglas J. Mink...

.

Mink was born in Elgin, Illinois

Elgin, Illinois

Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...

 in 1951. He graduated from Dundee Community High School in 1969. He earned an S.B. degree (1973) and an S.M. degree (1974) in Planetary Science

Planetary science

Planetary science is the scientific study of planets , moons, and planetary systems, in particular those of the Solar System and the processes that form them. It studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, aiming to determine their composition, dynamics, formation,...

 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

 (MIT).

Mink has served as an officer and director of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. He has been the route planner for the Massachusetts portion of the East Coast Greenway

East Coast Greenway

The East Coast Greenway, or ECG, is a project to create a nearly urban path linking the major cities of the Atlantic coast of the United States, from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Florida, for non-motorized human transportation...

 since 1991.

He currently lives in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 (USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

), and has a daughter named Sarah Mink.