• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Abelson's Research Key to Atomic Bomb

Posted on: Thursday, 12 August 2004, 06:00 CDT

Abelson's research key to atomic bomb

Scientist co-discoverer of neptunium, among first to analyze E. coli

By MATT SCHUDEL Washington Post

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Washington -- Philip H. Abelson, whose early research helped lead to the development of the atomic bomb and the nuclear submarine, and who later influenced scientific thinking during 23 years as the opinionated editor of Science magazine, died Aug. 1 of pneumonia. He was 91 and lived in Washington.

Abelson was a force in science for more than 60 years, beginning in the 1930s, when he was one of the nation's first nuclear physicists. He was the co-discoverer of the chemical element neptunium and during World War II worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. Later, he was among the first to analyze E. coli bacteria.

His scientific expertise knew almost no bounds. Trained in chemistry and physics, he also did groundbreaking research in biology, geology, biochemistry and engineering.

"He was an iconic figure," said John Brauman, a Stanford University chemist. "He played many roles, and he always found a place of leadership and influence as a scientist and on the public stage."

It's hard to say whether Abelson left his strongest mark on science as a researcher or as an editor and advocate for science. He had the rare ability to do advanced work and make it understandable to ordinary people. He had several well-known public disputes -- particularly about the space program -- and enjoyed putting science at the center of public debate.

Early work at Berkeley

Abelson gained recognition in the 1930s as a graduate student in the laboratory of Ernest Lawrence at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1938, he bought uranium at a scientific supply store. Within two months, he had built a spectrometer and devised a way to isolate a fissionable form of uranium.

Abelson and future Nobel Prize winner Edwin McMillan discovered neptunium at Berkeley in 1940 by bombarding uranium with neutrons. Previously, there were 92 known chemical elements on Earth. Neptunium was No. 93.

Abelson then came to Washington as a physicist with the Naval Research Laboratory, where his research was applied to development of the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project.

In 1944, Abelson was put in charge of the Naval Research Laboratory in Philadelphia. Among other things, he devised a way to apply nuclear energy to locomotion. By March 1946, he had written a paper detailing how a nuclear reactor could be installed in a submarine, in effect designing the blueprint for the USS Nautilus, which was launched in 1955 as the Navy's first nuclear-powered submarine.

After World War II, Abelson turned his attention to biology and geology. His 1955 book on E. coli, which was then little-known, was the standard study for decades and pointed out the bacteria's importance in the emerging field of genetic engineering.

During the 1950s, Abelson also discovered that amino acids can survive in fossils, particularly at low temperatures, for hundreds of millions of years, a finding that would influence biochemists and the study of paleontology.

In 1962, Abelson was named editor of Science magazine, a weekly publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that is read by virtually every scientist in the country.

During the 1960s, he had a running feud with Administrator James Webb of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration because of his opposition to the manned space program, which he called a waste of time and money that did little but satisfy a sense of adventure.

Abelson opposed government regulation of science but also warned against plans for building a genetically enhanced super race.

Philip Hauge Abelson was born in Tacoma, Wash., the son of Norwegian immigrants. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1933 and a master's degree in physics in 1935 from what is now Washington State University. He received a doctoral degree in nuclear physics from the University of California in 1939.

More News in this Category