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Dr. B. Cohen's observation about how people can
have Ph.D's in physics or chemistry and still be ignorant regarding radiation
issues reminded me of the first time I heard Dr. Cohen speak. I was a graduate
student in the nuclear engineering department at Purdue University,
having spent the previous two years as a graduate student in the physics
department. The nuclear engineering department wanted to build an irradiation
facility of some sort in an underground room owned by the physics department.
Some of the physics professors were intensely suspicious of the proposal,
fearing that they would be irradiated as they worked in their own labs and
offices. I think this was the reason why Dr. Cohen, who was becoming known as a
student of and speaker on radiation risks, was invited to give a seminar. His
talk was well attended by both these departments and their graduate students. It
was very enjoyable -- he was earthy but erudite, as those have heard him speak
over the years will understand. However, I remember being struck by the naivete
and even ignorance exhibited by some of the physics professors in the Q&A
session that followed the talk. They knew all about eigenvalues and Bragg
reflections, but they knew nothing about rads and the natural radiation
environment. That was when I realized that a professional involved in a field
involving radiation always has to be something of an evangelizer not only in the
general community, but even within the scientific community. I have always
admired Dr. Cohen's admirably thick skin as he rose to the challenge of sorting
out fact from fallacy in forums such as the seminar.
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