Australian Nuclear Physicist Oliphant Dead at 98

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Australian Nuclear Physicist Oliphant Dead at 98 
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian nuclear physicist Sir Mark Oliphant, 
who helped develop the atomic bomb but later campaigned against 
nuclear weaponry, has died, his family said on Monday. 
Oliphant died in Canberra on Friday, aged 98. 
He became internationally renowned as the leader of a team of British 
scientists who traveled to the United States in 1943 to assist with 
the Los Alamos National Laboratory's top-secret Manhattan Project to 
develop the atomic bomb. 
``Profoundly shocked and horrified by the use of this weapon in 1945, 
he became a lifelong campaigner against weapons of mass destruction 
and for the peaceful use of atomic energy for the benefit of 
humankind,'' his grandson Michael Wilson said in a statement. 
Bombs developed during the Manhattan Project were dropped on the 
Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, prompting Japan to 
surrender. More than 200,000 people were killed, wounded or missing 
in the blasts. 
Australian Prime Minister John Howard called Oliphant a ''great 
Australian.'' 
``Sir Mark's distinguished career at home and overseas ... 
highlighted his contribution to the nation as a scientist and public 
figure,'' Howard said in a statement. 
Born in South Australia state in 1901, Oliphant studied at Adelaide 
University and under British physicist Ernest Rutherford at the 
Cavendish Laboratory at Britain's Cambridge University. 
His work with the Cavendish team included the successful splitting of 
the atom in 1932 and the crucial development of microwave radar 
during World War Two. 
Oliphant returned to Australia in 1950 where he was a founder of the 
Australian Academy of Sciences, established to promote and give a 
global voice to Australian science, and founding director of the 
Research School of Physical Sciences at the Australian National 
University (ANU). 
President of the Academy Brian Anderson expressed the deep sense of 
loss felt by all scientists at Oliphant's death. 
``Sir Mark was Australia's leading statesman of science in the post-
war period,'' Anderson said in a statement. 
Following his retirement from the ANU in 1967, Oliphant was appointed 
governor of South Australia from 1971-76. 
He is survived by his daughter Vivien, three grandchildren and two 
great-grandchildren. 


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html