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Recipients of SRP Awards > Citations
SRP Honorary Fellow 2005 - Citation for Geoffrey Charles Roberts Geoff graduated in physics at Manchester University in 1955. His first employment was in the field of aerodynamics working principally on the design and development of the Vulcan V-bomber with A V Roe & Co in Manchester. He worked for the company for 10 years before changing career to the field of health physics when taking up an appointment with the Medical Research Council’s Radiological Protection Service (RPS) based at the Christie Hospital in Manchester. In 1971, the RPS was taken over by the newly formed National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB). Geoff transferred to the Board’s headquarters, firstly at the Royal Marsden, Sutton and then at Chilton, Oxon, and remained in employment with the Board until his retirement in 1993. One of his major tasks in the early days of NRPB was to assist the Board Secretary in project managing the design and building of NRPB Chilton. Its then futuristic design was used as the location for one of the Dr Who episodes. His early work in radiological protection was involved mainly with operational matters providing protection advice to industrial, research and medical users of ionising radiations. It also included an involvement in the handling of a number of radiological emergencies. Subsequently, he was involved with the NRPB’s nuclear assessments work before heading a newly formed Emergency Response Group set up by the Board following the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979. At that time, he also took over responsibility for organising the existing National Arrangements for Incidents involving Radioactivity (NAIR), which due to the changes in the NHS and the nuclear industry required restructuring and developing. NAIR has stood the test of time and is still a valuable asset to the UK. He worked in the emergencies field for the remainder of his career, providing significant contributions at the time of Chernobyl and in laying down the ground work for the current arrangements for dealing with civil and military nuclear emergencies. Geoff became a member of the Society in 1968, just five years after its inauguration. He was elected Honorary Secretary of the Society in 1983 and remained in that position for four years. He became a Fellow of the Society in 1989 and served a further period on the Society’s Council before being elected President of the Society in 1993. Around that time he also served as Chairman of the British Radiological Protection Association (BRadPA) and was subsequently involved in the negotiations leading to the demise of that organisation and the transfer of its functions to the Society’s newly created International Committee and the elevation of the Society to the status of the UK Society affiliated to the International Radiological Protection Association (IRPA). Geoff was a member of the Society’s International Scientific Programme Committees for the International Symposia held at Malvern and Portsmouth and served for many years on the Society’s Membership Committee. He became an ex-officio member of the Society’s Strategic Planning committee during his term as President and has continued to serve as an ordinary member of that committee ever since. The Society wishes to recognise his service to both radiological protection and the Society: he has been an outstanding member of our profession. SRP Honorary Fellow 2005 - Citation for Eric J. Hall Eric J. Hall is a son of Monmouthshire, born in 1933 in Abertillery, a town built on coal in the heart of the South Wales valleys. He attended Abertillery Grammar School before studying physics during 1950-53 at University College, London. Eric then specialised in medical physics, and was senior physicist at Churchill Hospital, Oxford between 1957 and 1962, during which time he carried out postgraduate research in radiobiology (based in Oriel College, Oxford), receiving the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1962. His first scientific papers were published in the British Journal of Radiology during this period. After a year as a Fulbright Exchange Scholar at the University of Colorado, he continued his career at the Churchill Hospital as Principal Physicist. It was in 1968 that Eric crossed the Atlantic for good, joining the staff of Columbia University, New York, where he has held a number of senior positions. From 1968 to 1986, he was Professor of Radiology, and it was in these years that he stamped his mark upon radiobiology, the first edition of his renowned book “Radiobiology for the Radiologist” – the definitive text for students of radiation biology – appearing in 1973. (The book is now in its sixth edition.) Eric also wrote the more general textbook “Radiation and Life” in 1978, which many have used to gain a background understanding of radiation and its interaction with biological media. In 1977 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Oxford for his work in radiobiology. Eric was made an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Radiology in 1981, and in 1984 became the Director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University, a position that he still holds today. Also at Columbia University he is Professor of Radiation Oncology and Radiology, an appointment made in 1986, and (from 1993) Higgins Professor of Radiation Biophysics. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists in 1999. Among Eric’s many awards and honours (which now number over 30) are the Gold Medal of the Radiological Society of North America, the Gold Medal of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the Failla Award of the Radiation Research Society, and the Janeway Medal of the American Radium Society. He was President of the Radiation Research Society in 1984-85, President of the American Radium Society in 1999-2000, and President of the International Association of Radiation Research in 1999-2003. Eric is the author of over 350 publications in peer-reviewed journals and has authored or co-authored four books. Eric has played a full role in the US National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, of which he was a member of the Board during 1993-99 and is now an Honorary Member. He delivered the NCRP Lauriston S. Taylor Lecture in 1998, and was a member of the sub-committee that, in 2001, produced the influential NCRP Report No. 136, which evaluated the scientific basis of the linear no-threshold dose-response relationship. Eric has also sat on the authoritative Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations (BEIR) of the US National Academy of Sciences, being a member of the groups that produced the BEIR V Report in 1990 (addressing the risks of low level exposure to radiation) and the BEIR VI Report in 1999 (dealing with the health effects of exposure to radon). Eric’s current interests include the biological mechanisms that underlie the carcinogenic and mutagenic effects of low doses of radiation, and improvements in the use of radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer. It is only through accurate knowledge of radiobiological mechanisms that the nature of the dose-response relationship at low doses will be properly understood. To this end, Eric’s unit at Columbia University has made significant advances with the development of microbeam technology, which permits the study in vitro of the effects of the passage of a single charged particle through a cell nucleus. Important experimental investigations of low dose phenomena such as the bystander effect have been conducted at Columbia using this technology. Eric Hall has made significant contributions to our understanding of radiobiology and to education, and thereby to radiological protection. He is a worthy recipient of an Honorary Fellowship of the Society for Radiological Protection. Jack Martin Prize 2005 - Citation for Alla Oudalova The Jack Martin Prize was awarded for a highly meritorious presentation at the Society's 7th International Symposium at Cardiff in June 2005. The prize consists of a medal together with either books and/or software relating to radiation protection up to a value of £1000, or payment of a contrubution to fees, or travel and subsistence expenses, to attend a conference or workshop on a topic relating to radiation protection up to a value of £1000. The prize committee considered presentations and posters against criteria which included the scientific or technical content, clarity, and resources available to the presenter (with preference being given to recent entrants to the profession). The standards of the presentations and posters were high, and the committee short-listed six potential winners, Jo Hingston, Barbara Lambers, Pamela Lloyd, Alla Oudalova, Ravinda Samartha and Russell Walke. The committee was pleased to award the prize to Alla Oudalova for her excellent presentation on the cytogenic effects induced by low level radiation in plant meristems. Alla works for the Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology , Obninsk. She is currently studying at the Univeristy of Liverpool until October 2005 as part of a two-year postdoctoral fellowship project, covered by award of the International Association for the promotion of co-operation with scientists from the new independent states of the former Soviet Union (web: www.intas.be) fellowship grant for young scientists. Her UK supervisor is Dr David Copplestone (Environment Agency), a member of the the Society. SRP Honorary Fellow 2005 - Citation for Kenneth Bruce Shaw Kenneth Bruce Shaw was born in Twickenham in March 1938. His earliest memories are of air raid sirens, shelters and bomb damage. He attended Thames Valley Grammar School from 1949 to 1956 where he enjoyed his studies as well as playing hockey for both the school and the “old boys”. He went to Hull University from1956-1959 where he was awarded an honours degree in physics and mathematics. He captained the university hockey club in 1958-1959. Ken joined Harwell in September 1959 at a time of major change: over only three years, in the same post, he was employed by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, the National Institute for Research in Nuclear Science and the Science Research Council, Rutherford Laboratory. These early years were both exciting and rewarding, particularly when equipping and using a land rover filled with neutron detectors to measure sky-shine in the areas outside of a proton linear accelerator. Those were also the days of the more complete training course: three months on the Harwell radiological protection course was time well spent. Ken was a visiting scientist at CERN, Geneva, during 1962 and 1966, where he worked with the resident team of health physicists and the visiting teams from the USA. It was whilst at the Rutherford Laboratory that Ken gained his MSc in physics at London University. His publications from this phase of his career give some insight into the protection challenges around particle accelerators. The winter of 1962-1963 provided Ken with vivid memories of travel difficulties in the Berkshire downs particularly the one-way systems on many local roads. Apart from that winter when the conditions were appalling, he regularly played hockey for the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell and their festival side The Faereys! He was also captain of the Harwell hockey club for a year and later played hockey for Witney hockey club. In 1969 Ken joined the Medical Research Council at the Radiological Protection Service and transferred to the National Radiological Protection Board in 1971. During this phase of his career he has had several interests, notably thermoluminescent dosimetry and the transport of radioactive materials. For several years he was secretary of the UK Thermoluminescent Dosimetry Forum and a member of the BSI committee on thermoluminescent dosimeters. His range of publications on thermoluminescence describe some of the difficulties and solutions in this area. Prior to his work on the transport of radioactive materials, he was engaged in studies of the disposal of radioactive waste and was a consultant to the International Atomic Energy Authority on safety assessment methods for underground disposal and a member of the IAEA advisory committee on this topic. The outcome of this work was a publication in the IAEA Safety Series to which he contributed. He also co-authored a report for the Commission of the European Communities on the radiological consequences of the release of radioactive effluents in the nuclear fuel cycle. In the1990s his main interest was in the radiological protection aspects of the transport of radioactive materials. Together with colleagues at NRPB he has provided significant radiological protection data on this topic in support of both the Department for Transport and the IAEA. He was influential in the establishment of one of the first databases on transport accidents and incidents. Ken has worked, together with scientists from other member states, on many transport projects for the European Commission. He has been a member of various advisory and technical committees supporting the IAEA in the reviews and revisions of the IAEA model transport regulations and associated publications. He is a member of the EC Standing Working Group on the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials. He has many publications on the transport of radioactive materials. Ken has been involved in experimental work and desk studies, in representational work overseas and in standard setting in the UK. The diversity of his interests and his enthusiasm are well recognised. Ken retired from NRPB in 2003 at the age of 65: he has found new interests in reading and music. The second side to Ken’s career is that of service to our Society which he joined in 1968. He was Honorary Secretary from 1973-79 in the days of a smaller membership but no paid administrative assistance. In those days meetings of the Council could be over in an afternoon! The old CEGB headquarters and also Imperial College were familiar venues for meetings of the Council. During this time he was also editor of the Society’s newsletter. Ken has served on many of the Society’s committees including the Long Term Planning Committee, Qualifications Working Party and the Electoral Committee. He has served on the organising committees of four of the Society’s international symposia and was chairman of the organising committee for the Inverness International Symposium in 1982. There were 325 scientific and 56 social delegates, from 30 countries, at the Inverness Symposium. Ken was awarded the Society’s Founders Prize in 1982. In 1986-87 he was President of the Society. He has been a member of the Council at various times over three decades from the 1970s to the 1990s. Ken has shown that it is possible to successfully combine many interests.
The Society wishes to recognise his fine service to both radiological protection
and the Society: he has been an outstanding member of our profession.
SRP Founders' Prize 2005 - Citation for Mark Singleton Mark Singleton is a relative newcomer to radiation protection in the medical sector, having previously worked for eleven years in the nuclear power industry. HSE wanted to produce guidance on interpretation of the term comforter and carer for each of the medical disciplines of patient diagnosis and therapy, but did not themselves have the essential practical expertise necessary to identify all the possible exposure scenarios. After an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the IPEM Radiation Protection Special Interest Group to do the task, John Gill of HSE approached Sheffield Radiation Protection Service. Recognising what an important area this was, and the many benefits that could arise from a clearer understanding of the correct use of dose constraints for comforters and carers, Sheffield Radiation Protection Service agreed to provide the shortfall in resources necessary to do the work. Mark Singleton was assigned the role of lead investigator and about 85% of the work is credited to Mark Mark studied physics at Liverpool University and was awarded a 2.II honours degree in 1987. In November of 1987, he started his career in the nuclear industry at Berkeley Power Station. He left Berkeley in 1989 and moved to Wylfa as a health physicist, and by the time he left Wylfa in September 1998, he was an accredited health physicist and part of the station emergency response team. He joined the NHS in September 1998, working as a radiation protection physicist in Medical Physics and Clinical Technology Department at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. From the outset, Mark demonstrated a meticulous approach to detail in his work and a sound understanding of regulatory requirements. After two years in the medical field, he successfully completed and passed his clinical registration and also was awarded RPA 2000 certification in January 2001. Mark started work on the comforters and carers project in late 2001 and it took around 18 months to complete. The final output was the substantial report published on the HSE website as HSE Research Report 155 (2003) Dose Constraints for Comforters and Carers by Singleton, M, Griffiths, C, Morrison, G and Soanes, T. The conclusions of this work have been presented at a number of conferences, including the SRP Medical Sectorial Committee session at the UK Radiology Conference in Manchester in 2004. This work has led to a clearer understanding, both for the regulators and the RPAs working in the field, of what constitutes appropriate use of the dose constraint flexibility for those “knowingly and willingly” exposed in the role of comforter and carer.. The meaning of the term had become somewhat watered down from the original intent in early application of IRR99, but the work that Mark led has overcome the many misunderstandings that existed, and clarified legitimate use of the dose constraint above the public dose limit for specific scenarios for the mutual benefit of patients and their relatives/friends. Mark joined the SRP in February 1998 and has served on the Medical Sectorial
Committee of SRP since its inception in 2002 and is a shining example of
how somebody can successfully make a career move from the nuclear industry
to the medical sector. He is a worthy recipient of the Founders’ Prize
SRP Jack Martin Prize 2005 - Citation for Mark George The Jack Martin prize is awarded to promote excellence in the field of radiological protection. The award may be made on one of two grounds. During years in which the SRP organises an international conference the Jack Martin prize may be awarded either for the best oral presentation and/or the best poster. In years where there is no such meeting, the prize may be awarded to the student submitting the best MSc or PhD thesis, on the broad topic of radiological protection, over the past four years. It is important to stress that the prize may be awarded. This is a discretionary award and is reserved for people making exceptional contributions in the field of radiological protection. Generally, preference will be given to younger candidates or recent entrants to the profession, but this is not an absolute rule and all cases are judged solely on merit. The Jack Martin prize came into effect from January 2001, and applications for the prize are submitted to and reviewed and awarded by the SRP Awards Committee. The committee has considered a number of applications since 2001, but this is the first occasion on which the Jack Martin prize has been awarded and we are delighted that such a high standard has been set. It is intended that the prize be awarded approximately biennially. In 2003, Mark George submitted an MSc thesis to the University of Lancaster entitled Issues Associated with the Application of the ALARP Principle in the Nuclear Industry as part of his degree requirement in safety engineering. The thesis was reviewed by the SRP Awards Committee in competition with a number of other theses for the Jack Martin Prize. The decision to award the prize to Mark was unanimous. Mark’s thesis covered three main topic areas in the application of ALARP: decision making, transitory risk and risk perception. With respect to each of these areas, Mark showed a comprehensive review of the existing literature and brought particular insights to his discussion of decision aiding tools (such as cost-benefit analysis, multi attribute utility analysis and analytic hierarchy processes) but his main contribution (in the view of the review panel) lay in analysing the peculiar difficulties arising from transitory risks. These involve periods when risks are significantly higher than average and raise two distinct issues: how to recognise when an elevated risk within a process is ‘significantly’ elevated and how to formulate an ALARP justification which includes both the general and the transitory risk levels. Mark proposed methods to identify ‘significant’ periods of elevation and ‘significant’ peaks in risks. The methods proposed are simple enough to provide workable guidance tools and deserve more widespread discussion and feedback from the scientific community. Mark already has a sound track record in radiological protection. He entered UKAEA in 1986, working as a safety engineer on a range of projects including computer case analyses and simulations of hypothetical severe reactor accidents, and moved to Nuclear Technologies plc in 2001 and most recently (in January 2005) joined DML as a safety case project manager. Over the coming years we feel sure that we will hear much more of Mark, and encourage him to publish aspects of his work in order to attract a much wider audience to the important discussions on ALARP and its practical application in the nuclear industry. The prize comprises a medal and either books and software relating to radiation protection or a contribution to fees, or travel and subsistence expenses, to attend a conference or workshop on a topic relating to radiation protection, to a value of £1000. We are very pleased to award the Jack Martin prize to Mark and believe that this prize is well deserved. SRP Honorary Fellow 2004 - Citation for John Gill John seems to have been in the radiation protection field for ever, or at least as long as many of us can remember, and it is his contributions to the regulation and practice of radiation protection that make him a worthy recipient of the Society’s Honorary Fellowship. Born in Wrexham in 1942, John attended King’s School, Chester prior to gaining a BA, MA (Natural Sciences) at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He then moved to the Department of Biochemistry at Bristol University where his research project was entitled “Studies on the mechanism of insulin secretion and its control”. The work involved in vitro studies of samples of rabbit pancreas or of isolated mouse Islets of Langerhans. This research provided his first practical experience of handling radioactive materials; it involved labelling and tracer work using iodine-125, phosphorus-32, and some carbon-14 and tritium. He was awarded his Ph D in 1969. There was then a brief spell of two years with the Home Office, Forensic Science Laboratory in Nottingham. This was prematurely curtailed because John could not distinguish red from green. It was that event that led John to radiation protection because he was transferred to the Home Office, Scientific Advisory Branch in London to work on consumer safety and during his two years in the branch he attended Hugh Evans’ Imperial College Summer School on radiation protection. In 1972, having had his appetite whetted, he was appointed as HM Chemical Inspector of Factories in the Department of Employment. After 6 months of training in the ways of regulation and inspection he joined the Advisory and Information Unit (Ionising Radiations in Research and Teaching). He visited research establishments throughout Great Britain to inspect their radiation protection arrangements and “advise” them on ways of making improvements. His memories include inspecting the work of Nobel Laureates in Cambridge; and of a gardener who was a classified radiation worker at a university. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 led to the first of many new avenues for John as he moved to the regulation of radiation protection in medicine and health care and to the approval of personal dosimetry laboratories. Promoted to HM Principal Inspector (Nuclear) in 1975, he took part in the important HSE Pilot Study of health and safety in hospitals, being responsible for the radiation protection section of the pilot study report. The pilot study work covered detailed examination of X-ray diagnosis, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy in hospitals up and down the country. This was in the days when brachytherapy normally meant using radium sources, manipulated manually, and when CT was in its infancy. In 1979 John became involved in the preparation of new regulations that ultimately reached the Statute Book as the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985 and of the accompanying Approved Code of Practice and guidance notes; for much of this period he was head of the ionising radiations policy section. 1985 saw the creation of the Technology Division of HSE and John, now based in Bootle, became a group leader responsible for radiation and power (electrical not political!) with his emphasis being on supporting the implementation of the newly introduced IRR85. At that time the approval of dosimetry services became an important focus and John acted both as an assessor and as technical secretary of the Dosimetry Services Panel and a member of the Dosimetry Policy Group. He was influential in the development of performance testing for dosimetry services and latterly was the manager of the dosimetry service approval programme. The 1990s saw John once again involved in the development of new ionising radiations regulations, though mainly in a specialist consultative capacity. The regulations went through the various stages of development culminating with the IRR99 and their associated Approved Code of Practice and guidance. Hard on the heels of IRR99 came the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations of 2001, another legislative package to which John made a contribution. At about this time HSE set up arrangements for the recognition of radiation protection advisers and he played a part in the Recognition Panel. Throughout his HSE career John was engaged in the running of training courses in radiation protection for HSE Inspectors, and also lectured on training courses and at scientific meetings organised by SRP, AURPO, BIR, IPEM and other bodies. He was the RPA to HSE for its own staff from 1986 until his retirement in 2002. John has made a significant input to standards work through BSI, firstly on the committee concerned with radiation protection of medical X-ray equipment, and more recently on the ISO committee working on internal dosimetry and he is presently serving on the ISO Radiation Protection Advisory Group representing the UK. John also undertook a valuable role in international work, particularly in the implementation of Euratom directives and in 2002 (post-retirement) he undertook a project for HSE as part of the assistance to the Maltese Government in achieving membership of the EU. His task was to train health and safety inspectors in radiation protection issues and to advise on draft Maltese legislation to implement Euratom Directive requirements. He spent a week in Malta with the inspectors, and visited a number of users of ionising radiation including the university, several hospitals, a dental practice, a shipbuilding and ship repairing enterprise, and the engineering works of Air Malta. John will long be remembered in HSE, and more widely, for his precise memory, for his attention to detail and for his exactitude. These attributes were particularly invaluable during the preparation of regulations, codes of practice and guidance and in the drawing up of certificates of approval where accuracy and consistency are paramount. Another memory will be of his love for all things French; he had a number of opportunities to practise and improve his French language skills. In 1982 he took part in a training course along with colleagues from across the Civil Service to study the French system of public administration. This ranged from visits to the French Parliament to meetings with national and local government in the Franche-Comté region and contact with radiation protection organisations. Then in 1985 he took part in an exchange with the French Labour Inspectorate and spent time with inspectors on visits. He was also very active in the HSE (Bootle) French Society whose attractions included talks on French history, culture etc. and practical activities such as games of boules and tasting of cheese and wine. John joined SRP in 1972 and has played a part in a number of committees; he has been on the Scientific Programme Committee – twice, the Electoral Committee and the Regulations Legislation & Standards Topic Group. He joined the RLSTG at its formation, under the chairmanship of John Marshall. The main function of the Group was to keep the membership informed about developments that would have a bearing on members’ work. The Group put together a bibliography of legislation and guidance and this features on the SRP website. When John Marshall went on to become President of SRP, John became the chairman of the Topic Group. During this time the group organised a scientific meeting of the Society, held in the main lecture room at the Royal Institution. This venue was particularly suited to the debate; not only was this a historical lecture room in which many of the greatest scientists had lectured in the past, but also the seating layout encouraged the participants to take part in the discussion. John had the privilege of chairing the morning session of the meeting when the progress brought about by the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 was debated. He was also for a long period a member of the BIR Radiation Protection Committee. John’s retirement in 2002 did not signal the end of his interest in, and involvement with, radiation protection; he is currently a Radiation Protection Adviser with RPAS UK Ltd. He is also continuing his standards work for ISO. John has had a long and distinguished career in radiation protection and still continues to contribute his wealth of experience and knowledge to the benefit and welfare of those working with ionising radiation.
SRP Founders' Prize 2004 - Citation for David Copplestone Dr David Copplestone is an active researcher in the environmental distribution, transport and behaviour of radioactivity. He has established a worthy reputation and is now acknowledged to be at the forefront of developing the UK methods for the determination of doses to biota other than man, and the determination of appropriate guidance levels to ensure adequate protection of the environment. He has a particular contribution in seeking to develop methods of expressing harm to biota which is valid for a range of contaminants (radionuclides, heavy metals, persistent chemicals etc). David is currently undertaking radioecological research into topics such as environmental impact assessment and protection of wildlife (including protected species), development of biomarkers to quantify exposure to environmental contaminants, understanding how ecological systems adapt to environmental stresses caused by exposure to ionising radiation and modelling the transfer and behaviour of radionuclides. Since joining the University of Liverpool in 1992 as a research assistant in 1992, he has remained there in a number of guises. In 1996 he was awarded his PhD on “the food chain transfer of radionuclides through semi-natural habitats”. He is currently a research fellow and university teacher at the University of Liverpool. David is the lead author on a number of seminal Technical Reports issued by the Environment Agency in England and Wales dealing with the issue of protection of the environment from ionising radiation. In total he has published 16 R&D Technical Reports, all in the public domain. In addition, he has authored or co-authored 15 peer-reviewed scientific articles and 7 published conference articles. David has not neglected his broader contributions to science either. He is an active member of the SRP, is secretary to the Co-Ordinating Group on Environmental Radioactivity (COGER) and is chairman of the International Union of Radioecologists’ Task Group on Environmental Protection from Ionising Radiation. In addition David has supervised three PhD students and five MSc students. At the age of 34 years, David has already contributed a great deal to the field of radioecology and to the developing field of protecting the environment from the effects of ionising radiation. Anyone who knows David respects his hard work and integrity. At the same time, he remains approachable and is constantly willing to assist whenever asked – often adding to his already extensive work commitments in order to further others. David is a worthy recipient of the SRP Founder’s Prize and, I believe, we will be rewarded by seeing him continue to grow in the field of radiation protection and proving to be an ambassador for our society and our field of science.
SRP Honorary Fellow 2003 - Citation for William Jackson Schull The atomic bomb explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 brought the Second World War to a close. As well as causing suffering and devastation, these nuclear explosions provided a unique opportunity to study the effects of exposure to ionising radiation on the health of the irradiated individuals and of their subsequently conceived children. The monumental efforts of scientists (mainly American and Japanese) involved in these studies over the years from the late 1940s has contributed substantially to our knowledge of the risk of both somatic and hereditary effects caused by exposure to radiation. Indeed, it is largely upon the experience of the Japanese atomic bomb survivors that the risk estimates for radiation-induced cancer that underlie the current system of radiological protection are based. Jack Schull has been at the heart of these extremely important studies since their inception. William Jackson (‘Jack’) Schull graduated in zoology at Marquette University, Milwaukee, and received a PhD for research on human genetics from Ohio State University, Columbus. In 1949, he became Head of the Department of Genetics of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) in Hiroshima. He took up this position when only 27 years of age. The greatest concern at the commencement of the ABCC studies was the risk of hereditary genetic effects in the children of the survivors. With the late James V Neel, Jack Schull conducted the impressive study of genetic disorders in the Japanese children and they examined the outcome of over 75,000 pregnancies. The results of the first phase of this genetic study were presented in the monograph, ‘The effect of exposure to the atomic bombs on pregnancy termination in Hiroshima and Nagasaki’, published by the USNational Academy of Sciences in 1956. To the surprise of many scientists, including the two authors, no statistically significant excesses of genetic effects were detected, although there was a tendency for an increase in effects with increasing dose. This important large genetic study continues to provide an upper bound for the risk of radiation-induced hereditary genetic disorders in humans. Jack Schull has continued to be involved in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki genetic studies, but he has also played a leading role in the various studies of health effects among the survivors themselves. These, of course, include the large and highly informative Life Span Study of the cohort of nearly 100,000 Japanese survivors that has provided us with so much information on radiation-induced mortality and, in particular, radiation-induced cancer. Jack has had a particular interest in the intrauterine exposed survivors, including the contentious question of the risk of cancer among those exposed while in the womb. Of special note are his studies of mental retardation among the survivors exposed in utero. These studies remain pre-eminent in our knowledge of the effect of radiation exposure upon the developing human brain. Not unexpectedly, Jack Schull has held a number of senior positions in the ABCC and its successor organisation, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF). He has served as a geneticist, an epidemiologist and a research administrator, becoming the RERF Vice-Chairman and Chief of Research, a ‘Permanent Director’ and Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Statistics. He has held a number of academic appointments outside Japan including full professorships at the University of Michigan. In 1972, he established and became Director of the Human Genetics Center of The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, and since 1998 has been Ashbel Smith Professor Emeritus at The University of Texas Houston. He has been a consultant to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, a member of Committee 1 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection and has served on a number of influential committees of the US National Academy of Sciences. All in all, he has served on more than 40 national and international panels. He is author of more than 400 publications including 14 books. Of particular note are the two books ‘Effects of Atomic Radiation: a Half Century of Research in Hiroshima and Nagasaki’, and the evocative ‘Song Among the Ruins’ in which he gives his personal observations and reflections on post-war Japan and its changes. Among his many honours and awards is his election in 1999 as Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the oldest institution of its kind in the USA, whose early members included Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. In 1992, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class by the Emperor of Japan, the highest honour bestowed on foreign, non-diplomatic individuals. Jack Schull has made an enormous contribution to radiation science in a career that has spanned more than half a century. This would be impressive enough, but his research has extended to other fields in which he has made substantial contributions. His enthusiasm for science, coupled with a renowned sense of humour and down-to-earth attitude, are the mark of an exceptional individual. Truly, he is one of the great figures of radiation science. Jack Schull is a most deserving recipient of the award of Honorary Fellowship of the Society for Radiological Protection, and Council is very pleased to commend him to the Annual General Meeting. SRP Honorary Fellow 2003 - Citation for Dudley T Goodhead Dudley Goodhead’s initial education was in South Africa and his original research interests were in oceanographic physics and in high-energy particle physics. Indeed, his D.Phil. was awarded in Oxford for studies on mesonic interaction processes in nuclear emulsions. However, after subsequent periods at the University of California, Barts Medical College and the University of Natal, he eventually arrived at the Medical Research Council Radiobiology Unit in 1975, which is where he has remained ever since. Indeed, he became Deputy Director of the Unit in 1990 and Director in 1995. Reflecting the exciting developments that have occurred in radiobiology in the 1990s and in which Dudley has played a significant part, the Unit now bears the title the Radiation and Genome Stability Unit. It carries out basic research on how DNA may be damaged by radiation and other agents, and how cellular repair systems act to restore normality. Dudley’s personal research interests are mainly in the area of the biophysics of radiation effects. He has been involved in simulations of radiation track structure and the use of ultrasoft x-rays to probe radiobiological mechanisms, as well as in evaluation of chromosomal biomarkers of exposure and in studies of radiation-induced genomic instability. His productivity in these areas is indicated by his record of more than 170 publications. However, Dudley has been involved much more widely in issues relating to radiation protection, notably through his membership of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), the Committee on Effects of Ionising Radiation (CEIR) and the joint MRC/NRPB Committee for Radiological Protection (JCRP). He has also acted as a consultant to UNSCEAR, BEIR and IARC. Members of the Society may also be particularly aware of Dudley’s involvement with the Royal Society Working Group on Depleted Uranium and with the CERRIE Committee that is currently addressing radiation risks from internal emitters. Dudley is no stranger to awards. He has been a recipient of the Weiss Medal of the Association of Radiation Research, the Failla Medal of the Radiation Research Society and the Bacq and Alexander Award of the European Society of Radiation Biology. Throughout his career, his enthusiasm for research and his ready approachability have been much appreciated. In his early years at the Radiobiology Unit, his capabilities with a rounders bat also came in useful in the Harwell knockout competition! In summary, Dudley is a worthy recipient of the Society’s Honorary Fellowship, which we award in recognition of his major contribution to the fundamental knowledge of radiobiology that underpins the science and art of radiological protection. SRP Honorary Fellow 2003 - Citation for John Jackson Born in Coventry in 1942 and educated there and at Southampton, John read physics at Sheffield, graduating in 1963. He stayed on to obtain a PhD in solid-state physics and then, in 1966, joined the Central Electricity Generating Board’s Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories as a Research Officer to study the basic processes of thermoluminescence in materials having potential use for dosimetry, and to examine fission product transport in reactor gases circuits. In 1971, seeking a less research-based career, he moved to the Ministry of Defence Naval Radiological Protection Service at Alverstoke where he trained as a Health Physicist. The continuing strand of his career thus far was dosimetry, particularly thermoluminescence dosimetry (TLD), and this continued with his next move to the newly-formed Branch 5 of the Health and Safety Executive’s Nuclear Installations Inspectorate in 1976. Here he had particular responsibility for approved dosimetry laboratories and was responsible for the approval of the first TLD-based service in the UK (at NRPB) and, with the National Physical Laboratory, for the production of performance criteria for approved laboratories. However, much as he enjoyed working in the HSE, the prospect of a move to Bootle did not appeal so he joined the Radiochemical Inspectorate (RCI) in 1983 as a Principal Inspector; from then on, his career—still as a regulator—has been environmentally based. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) was the successor to the RCI and, in 1990, he was appointed Manager of the South West Region based at Bristol. HMIP became part of the newly formed Environment Agency in 1996 and the reduction in staffing of the Agency’s Head Office brought early—and not unwelcome—retirement for John in 1998. He was immediately offered consultancy work in radioactive waste management and this he has done ever since. John joined the SRP in 1977. One year after joining, Professor John Lakey, then SRP President, talked him into taking on the Honorary Treasurer job and this he did from 1978 until 1982. During this time, there were various developments—such as the introduction of the journal—which meant that, at one time, John was doing three jobs for the Society:
His wife must have wondered whom she’d married (John or the SRP)! During his time as Treasurer, he had joined a small committee to examine the feasibility of an SRP journal, originally proposed by Dr Dennis Brown. It seems strange to think that the genesis of JSRP was a meeting of Ian Thompson, Bernard James, Dennis Brown and John in a bare cabin (with sloping floor and not a right angle in sight!) on board a naval ship, the Berry Head, in Devonport in 1979. JSRP was first published in 1981 with John on the first Editorial Board. In 1982 he became Deputy Editor and then succeeded Bernard Wheatley as Editor, a job he did between 1984 and 1986. Literally cutting and pasting galley proofs onto blank page formats using scissors and lots of Pritt glue late at night was required to produce the journal— a far cry from today’s methods. John was elected President in 1987 during which time he also took on the job of Treasurer for the 4th SRP International Symposium held at Malvern in 1989. He was elected a Fellow of the SRP in 1989 and, shortly afterwards, joined the Membership Committee at the suggestion of Hugh Orchard—and he is still on the committee (as Chairman since 1998). During this time, the membership database has been strengthened in order to provide information for the Society’s planning (e.g. Scientific Meetings, Topic and Regional Groups, Finance, and Long Term Planning) and to produce reports on membership trends for Council. In 1992, he joined the Organising Committee as Treasurer for the 5th SRP International Symposium held at Portsmouth in 1994. In 1993, the Finance Committee was established and, as an ex-Treasurer, he was invited to join as a Holding Trustee. He retired from this committee this year but, being a glutton for punishment, he has volunteered to do the Treasurer job again for the next SRP International Symposium in 2005. A lot of work hides behind these mere words and no doubt John would be the first to acknowledge the support he has received from a string of employers and, of course, not least his wife. John has been a loyal, hard-working servant of the Society, and is a most deserving recipient of the award of Honorary Fellowship. Council is very pleased to commend him to the Annual General Meeting. SRP Founders' Prize 2003 - Citation for Colin John Martin The Founder’s Prize was established in 1978, and first awarded in 1979. The Prize is to be awarded to meritorious, preferably younger, workers in radiation protection who are engaged in research, in industry and in other activities such as teaching and administration. I can think of no one who better exemplifies this description than Colin Martin. To take the only contentious aspect first, Colin is certainly younger than the writer of this citation, and probably also the reader! He is Head of the Health Physics Division and also manages the Department of Radiation Protection, providing services to 7 Health Boards and 19 NHS Trusts in the West and South of Scotland. He is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. He obtained his PhD in Mossbauer crystallography, working initially in Birmingham, then with spells in Oxford and Aberdeen before taking up his present position in Glasgow in 1995. During this time he has published over 80 papers, conference proceedings and book chapters, with a similar number of oral presentations at scientific meetings. He recently published a book on Practical Radiation Protection in Health Care and has another at press. His research interests are legion. In his early years, he published extensively on the biological effects of ultrasound and ultrasound dosimetry. At this time, he also found the energy to work on optimizing the thermal environment for the treatment of patients with severe burns in order to minimise heat loss. While at Aberdeen, he was involved in the study of environmental radioactivity in the North of Scotland especially following the Chernobyl accident. In the early 1990s, he developed an interest in the electromagnetic fields found around diathermy equipment, in order to aid the protection of patients and physiotherapists. This was followed by the development of QA for x-ray equipment and patient dose assessment. He has published guidance on the techniques and principles of dose optimisation. He has developed the methodology for measurement of patient entrance dose rates for fluoroscopy equipment in order to facilitate the investigation of causes of high doses. He has identified problems in the measurement of irradiance arising from inaccuracies in the angular response of many of the radiometers used in measurement in ultraviolet phototherapy. And he has established criteria for judging these angular responses. Recent work has established guidance in quantifying extremity doses and in areas of high exposure. We commend to you Colin John Martin as this year’s recipient of the Founder’s Prize. SRP Honorary Fellow 2001 - Citation for Peter Francis Beaver A Bristolian by birth, Peter Beaver graduated from the University of Exeter in 1953 with a B.Sc. (Spec. Hons) in 1953. His first post was as an Operational Health Physicist in the Health Physics Branch of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston, and he subsequently became a reactor health physicist. During his ten years with AWRE he undertook a variety of tasks, including aerosol research, radiation safety in various facilities, also on weapons trials, and design aspects for radiation safety for facilities and reactors. He was present when HERALD, the AWRE 10MW research reactor, went critical (and, some 25 years later, in the company of Bill Saxby he was present on the day it was shut down). In 1963, Peter was given leave of absence to join the International Atomic Energy Agency for two years, working as a technical assistance expert in radiation protection. His time with IAEA took him to both the Middle and Far East, giving him some interesting and enjoyable experiences together with an abiding hatred of mangoes! Returning in 1965, he only stayed with AWRE as an operational health physicist for one more year before pastures new called and in 1966 he joined HM Factory Inspectorate as a specialist radiation protection inspector (one of a limited edition, as ever). He was promoted to Principal Inspector in 1969 and, just as the Factory Inspectorate was subsumed into the newly created Health and Safety Executive, he was transferred into the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and further promoted to Superintending Inspector (Nuclear). In his early years in the Factory Inspectorate, Peter was involved in enforcement of the 1961 Sealed Sources Regulations and the formulation, as well as subsequent enforcement, of the 1968 Unsealed Radioactive Substances and 1969 Sealed Sources Regulations. The UK's accession to the European Community in 1972 and the creation of the Health and Safety Executive in 1974 opened up new opportunities for Peter, which he seized enthusiastically. Transfer of his group to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate brought Peter substantial operational responsibilities and heavy involvement in the negotiations within Europe that led to adoption of a revised basic safety standards (BSS) for radiation protection Directive in 1980. Preparation of regulations to implement the occupational protection aspects of the BSS Directive had started in the 1970s when the UK joined the EC. This work did not come to fruition until 1985, when the Ionising Radiations Regulations were made and became the first piece of radiation protection legislation in the UK to cover all uses and users of ionising radiation. Peter was involved for much of this period, apart from a few years when he took on the operational group of the Factory Inspectorate dealing with radiation protection and noise. In 1984 he returned to policy work with a specific remit to finalise the Ionising Radiations Regulations and associated guidance. There followed a hectic period of consultation with interested parties and numerous redrafts of the new legislation and eventual success as the Regulations were made in August 1985. Any thoughts that life would then become easier were soon dispelled, and Peter embarked on a much appreciated round of visits to explain the content and implications of the new Regulations. He was, and is, famed for his involvement of what are now called "stakeholders" in the development of the 1985 Regulations and subsequent Approved Code of Practice and guidance, to the extent that some of his HSE colleagues were heard to mutter that they felt overlooked at times! Peter retired formally from HSE in 1992, though he was retained as a consultant for a while afterwards. With his usual impeccable timing for being in at the beginning of important developments having been only slightly diverted by his stint with IAEA, Peter became a member of SRP in 1965 on his return to the UK, having been recruited by Founding Member Bill Saxby. This led to the era of sterling service to the Society which is now recognised by the award of the Honorary Fellowship. He was a member of the working group that devised the Society's Certification Scheme. In 1984 he was elected to Council and became a Fellow in 1989. As President in 1990/91, his Presidential theme was closer association between Professional Societies. This led to the Institute of Physical Sciences in Medicine and SRP setting up the joint Certification Scheme, created from their two, previously separate, schemes. From 1991 to 1994 Peter was Chairman of SRP's Long Term Planning Committee, having been a member for some years. During this time he took on the Qualifications Working Group, which became the Qualifications and Professional Standards Committee (QPSC) under his Chairmanship in 1994. This returned him to Council in an ex-officio capacity, where he was appointed to the newly formed International Committee (having been closely involved in developing the necessary agreement between Societies) and the Chartered Status Ad-hoc Group. The QPSC has achieved much under Peter's Chairmanship. National Vocational Qualifications (now under revision, again with valuable input from the Committee) have been developed, together with supporting guidance, a Continuing Professional Development Scheme has been devised and implemented, the Committee (through Peter) has made a considerable contribution to a European Commission working group of professional societies, the joint Certification Scheme was monitored and the transition to RPA 2000 has been successfully managed. The establishment of RPA 2000 in particular required much consultation with partner Societies, and HSE and Peter's personal contribution cannot be overstated. His retirement from SRP activities, though not from SRP itself, makes this AGM a fitting occasion to mark the Society's appreciation. Peter Beaver is a most deserving recipient of the award of Honorary
Fellowship of the Society for Radiological Protection, and Council is very
pleased to commend him to the Annual General Meeting.
SRP Honorary Fellow 2001 - Citation for Muir McNaughtan Wasson Muir McNaughtan Wasson was born in 1935 of Scottish descent. His education was in Scotland terminating with an Honours degree in Natural Philosophy from Glasgow University in 1957. His early career was at Harwell as a Scientific Officer, undertaking research into scintillation techniques and Wigner release problems. Muir started his career in health physics with the then Central Electricity Generating Board at Trawsfynnydd in 1963 and moved to Bradwell in 1964 as Assistant Health Physicist, later progressing to Health Physicist and finally to Resource Manager. During that time he was one of the most highly respected health physicists in the industry. He took early retirement in 1993. Having joined the UK Chapter of the Health Physics Society of America, Muir joined SRP as a Founder Member in 1963. He was elected to Council in 1977 and also took on the task of being the first Secretary of the Certification Panel which had been set up to provide SRP members with a way of having their competence recognised by their peers and, it was hoped, as an aid to members when seeking employment. The Certification Scheme was substantially enlarged during the early years of the 1980s by the creation of the Joint Certification Scheme which brought SRP and HPA (now IPEM) to work together to common standards and common documentation. Muir had considerable input and was also a member of the Joint Steering Committee set up to oversee the operation of the Joint Scheme. In 1983 Muir became President-elect, giving up his role as Secretary of the Certification Panel but taking on functions such as Chairman of the Programme Committee, signatory of the BRPA Charter, steering the recognition of BRPA by IRPA. During his term of office as President the Society celebrated its 21st birthday with a dinner at AERE Harwell. As Past-President, Muir chaired the Certification Panel. Muir was elected back on Council in 1987 and took on the onerous task of organising the SRP International Symposium, which on this occasion was held at Malvern, Worcs. He was elected Fellow in 1991 and took on for the second time the task of being secretary of the Certification Panel. During this period from 1991 onwards he was involved in the arrangements which extended the Joint Scheme to include AURPO and IRP. Muir nevertheless found time to be a member of the Organising Committee for the SRP International Symposium, this time at Portsmouth. The Qualifications Working Group, which later became a standing committee of Council as the Qualifications and Professional Standards Committee, was formed in 1993. Muir was its first and, up till now, its only secretary. With great enthusiasm he became involved in the many activities of the Committee, generating drafts of documents which led to the accreditation of National Vocational Qualifications in radiation protection, devising and putting into effect the Continuing Professional Development Scheme and the development of the criteria for the Joint Certification Scheme. He performed all the tasks put to him as secretary of this very active committee with cool and calm efficiency, for example writing the minutes while going home on the train and emailing or faxing them to the Committee Chairman the following day! The Committee was heavily involved in the scrutiny of and commenting on the draft Ionising Radiations Regulations in respect of the newly proposed requirements for Radiation Protection Advisers. As many as six meetings per year had to be organised and the onerous tasks of producing minutes, discussion documents, draft letters etc fell to the secretary. The success of this work and the success of the consequent formation of the Assessing Body for RPA qualifications, RPA 2000, is a testimony to the hard work put in by Muir at this time. Muir is currently a director and the secretary of RPA 2000. He took on the task of organising the workshop to be managed by the SRP Qualifications and Professional Standards Committee on behalf of RPA 2000. This workshop looked at the operation and future development of the assessment system and, not surprisingly, turned out to be highly successful. Council has no hesitation in commending Muir McNaughtan Wasson as an Honorary Fellow of the Society for Radiological Protection for his major contribution to the profession of radiation protection and for his untiring and invaluable contribution to the work of the Society. SRP Founders' Prize 2000 - Citation for Duncan Jackson Duncan Jackson has established a considerable reputation through his work on the distribution and transport of radionuclides in the environment. Having undertaken postgraduate research on the role of Spartina anglica, a species of estuarine plant, in estuarine ecosystems, he joined Associated Nuclear Services (ANS) in 1982, where he was immediately sucked into the enterprise of producing what eventually became a six volume series of reviews of information on radionuclide distribution and transport in terrestrial and marine environments. Duncan made substantial contributions to volumes 3 to 5 and took the lead in producing the final compilation volume of the series. During his time at ANS, he also undertook experimental studies on radionuclide transport in soils and plants, as well as co-authoring a book on the pharmacokinetics of various chemical carcinogens in man. In 1986, Duncan moved to BNFL, where he became manager for environmental monitoring at Sellafield. In this role, he helped to develop the off-site environmental emergency assessment procedures and environmental monitoring programme. This was a key period for this programme, with a need to address not only the impacts of releases from BNFL facilities, but also the distribution of environmental contamination arising from the Chernobyl accident. It was over this period that Duncan demonstrated that his scientific ability was complemented by communications skills that enabled him to make technical information accessible to a wider audience. Not surprisingly, BNFL recognised this ability and transferred him to a public relations role. As senior manager for public relations from 1991 to 1994, he helped formulate public relations policy for the Sellafield Site, including the Visitors' Centre, site visits and educational liaison. Over this period, he saw the annual attendance at the Visitors' Centre rise to around 150,000 and was personally active in public meetings and media interviews, presenting the case for a well managed and regulated nuclear industry. However, Duncan's primary interest remained radioecology and, in 1994, when Westlakes Scientific Consulting was established, he joined the new company. At Westlakes, he currently leads a small group providing services in environmental protection. Recent work has included an assessment of the impact of a nuclear accident on freshwater pathways, studies on the foodchain transfer of 129I, development of approaches to the remediation of contaminated sites, a review of the potential effects of releases of radionuclides on species other than man and an evaluation of the flow of chemical contaminants through terrestrial foodchains. Most recently, he has been co-ordinating BNFL's strategic response to the Ministerial OSPAR statement on reducing radioactive discharges to the marine environment. Over the years, Duncan has published some 70 books, journal articles and conference papers, most of which have related to radionuclides in the environment. His output continues unabated and he appears as a contributing author of six papers in the proceedings of Southport '99. He has also supervised various students from 1983 onward, taught on a variety of BNFL and other courses, and is an active member of various societies including the SRP, BNES, the Institute of Biology, the Linnean Society of London and the International Union of Radioecologists. For the SRP, he has been a member of the Scientific Programme Committee and is currently a member of the Bursary & Awards Committee. Anyone who knows Duncan cannot fail to be impressed by his enthusiasm for radioecology and for life in general. His love of cycling and running is well known, as is his delight to take up any challenge that involves physical activity. At the age of forty-two, Duncan has already made considerable contributions to the science that underpins assessments of the radiological impact of releases of radionuclides to the environment. With his tremendous enthusiasm and capacity for work, we can look forward to many more such contributions in the future. He is a worthy recipient of the Society's Founders' Prize.
Citations SRP Honorary Fellow 2000 - Citation for Professor Bryn Bridges Bryn Bridges was born in London in 1936 and trained as a microbiologist at the University of Reading where he received a BSc in 1957 and a PhD in 1961. Between 1957 and 1962 he worked at the Wantage Research Laboratory in a group concerned with the early development of radiation sterilisation of medical products. Whilst at Wantage he carried out pioneering work on radiation sensitizers, a field in which he continued for some years and which was to earn him the Weiss Medal of the Association for Radiation Research in 1979. In 1962 he joined John Munson at the MRC Radiobiology Unit at Harwell where he made detailed studies of the mutagenic effects of radiation. In 1970 Bryn Bridges became the first Director of the MRC Cell Mutation Unit at the University of Sussex, a position that he has held for the past thirty years. In 1973 he was appointed a Professorial Fellow of the University of Sussex. The development of the Cell Mutation Unit has reflected Bryn's belief that such units should be able to combine the highest quality fundamental research with the highest quality applied research. The work of the unit is concerned with the response of cells to DNA damaging chemicals and radiations. The identification and characterisation of cells from humans believed to be sensitive to radiation is a major feature of the Unit's work, together with the cloning of the genes responsible for dealing with radiation damage and the characterising of the pathways involved. Recent work has revealed the existence within the population of individuals hypersensitive to ionising radiation, but without any other distinguishing features, and has implications for both radiological protection and radiotherapy. Continuation of his work at Harwell has been the elucidation of mechanisms in bacteria by which mutations are produced. The Unit was a pioneer in the development of methods for mutagenicity testing, particularly with mammalian cells, and for measuring mutations in the lymphocytes of people who may have been exposed to mutagens. During his time at the MRC Cell Mutation Unit, Bryn Bridges has received a number professional society honours and awards. These include: the Weiss medal in 1979 (as mentioned above), President of the European Environmental Mutagen Society from 1975 to 1977, Chairman of the International Commission for Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens from 1983 to 1989, Vice-President of the Genetical Society from 1985 to 1989, and the European Environmental Mutagen Society Award for 1991. As well as being an author of some 250 research papers, he has edited a number of books and has been involved with the International Agency for Research on Cancer assessments of various radiations. He is the author of a book "Response of Bacteria to Radiation" published in 1976. Between 1971 and 1972, Bryn was the editor of the journal Molecular and General Genetics, and he has been a member of the editorial boards of several journals including Mutation Research, International Journal of Radiation Biology, Japanese Journal of Cancer Research, Mutagenesis, and Carcinogenesis. Quite apart from his academic achievements, perhaps Bryn is best known for his impact on considerations of the influence of science upon society and its implications for public policy. One of the results of his early interest in mutation was awareness that many chemicals were likely to possess the ability to induce mutations, including pesticides, food additives and drugs. In 1973 he published the "three tier" scheme for mutagenicity testing which developed into the basic approach for most regulatory agencies. A letter sent to the then Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS) in 1970, pointing out the possible dangers of the mutagenic chemicals, led to the formation of the DHSS Sub-committee on Mutagenicity, which later became the Committee on Mutagenicity which Bryn chaired during 1983-92. He was also a member of the DHSS Carcinogenicity Committee until 1992. More recently, he has taken up high-profile positions as Chairman of the NRPB Advisory Group on Ionising Radiation and, particularly, as Chairman of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE). He has overseen the production of three COMARE reports (on Sellafield, Greenham Common and Dounreay) and a number of statements. Bryn has been Chairman of COMARE during the important period for radiological protection when the results concerning cancer among offspring of radiation workers have had to be carefully weighed and considered, although his most recent pre-occupation seems to have been skirmishing with Chris Busby over the validity of the latter's claims that the risk of leukaemia is markedly raised in young children living near the Welsh coast! Bryn Bridges is married with two children and three grandchildren. Music plays an important part in his life and, as an organist, he studied with Osborn Peasgood, Sub- organist at Westminster Abbey. He still plays the church organ today. Among other musical accomplishments, he has been conductor of the Eastbourne Concert Orchestra since 1980. He is also a keen skier and windsurfer. Professor Bryn Bridges is a more than worthy recipient of the award of Honorary Fellowship of the Society for Radiological Protection.
SRP Honorary Fellow 1998 - Citation for Professor Keith Boddy Keith Boddy was born on the 1st November 1937 in Stockton-on-Tees and has always had an affinity for God's own country. He excelled as a sportsman at school, also playing under-15 Rugby for Durham County and cricket for the local town. From Grangefield Grammar School in Stockton Keith went to Liverpool University. After graduation in 1959 he went to work in the 'scientific wonderland' of the Associated Electrical Industries (Fundamental) Research Laboratory at Aldermaston Court in the Health Physics Section. In the posts of radiation protection officer, and subsequently Head of the Health Physics Section, he obtained exposure to many aspects of radiation protection, including a research reactor, nuclear fusion and particle accelerators. Whilst at Aldermaston Court he established the first environmental survey programme and off-site emergency team outside the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. He was the first to report radioactivity in rainfall in Britain following Russian nuclear weapons tests. At the same time he obtained an MSc in Radiation Physics from the medical College of St Bartholomew the Great, where his mentor was Professor Joseph Rotblatt, now a Nobel Laureate, although Keith says the events are not related. His next move was to the Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre at East Kilbride. Whilst there he established the Health Physics and Nuclear Medicine Unit. His passionate research interest lay in whole body counting and he developed the first British high sensitivity shadow-shield and mobile whole body counters. These were for use in clinical studies of body composition, metabolism and in radiation protection. He was also heavily involved in in-vivo neutron activation analysis. He was the first to use californium-252 sources for partial body and bilateral neutron generators for total body in-vivo neutron activation analysis. During this active research period he obtained a PhD from the University of Glasgow and a DSc from the University of Strathclyde. His considerable scientific achievements earned him election as a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He was particularly successful in obtaining research income and served on various national and international expert committees. However, the lure of the post of Head of the Regional Medical Physics Department and the opportunity to work in his beloved North East proved too much and he arrived in Newcastle in 1978. There he established a truly Regional department with over 270 staff in 7 units, 6 sub-units and 18 hospitals/centres. His advocacy was legendary. Entirely correct is the rumour that trainee accountants at the Regional Health Authority were sent to deal with Professor Boddy as a penance. The local clinicians quickly recognised his skills and he served as Chairman of the Hospital Medical Committee, and as their representative on the Newcastle District Health Authority Management Board. He has numerous academic achievements, including giving the annual lecture to the British Nuclear Medicine Society, the Walker Lecture to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow, the Association Lecture of the Hospital Physicists' Association and the first Jack Meredith Memorial Lecture of the Institute of Physics. He has been elected as an honorary member of the British Nuclear Medicine Society, the Royal College of Radiologists and the British Institute of Radiology, and as an honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. De Montfort University has recently awarded him an honorary DSc. His activities within the Radiation Protection field are too numerous to mention them
all. He has served on the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, the
Committee on the Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment, the Ionising
Radiations Advisory Committee and the Sellafield Local Liaison Committee, chairing
their Environmental Health Sub-Committee. He has also chaired a working group of
the Watt Committee on Energy. He has acted as a consultant on whole-body
monitoring to the International Atomic Energy Agency and advised the World Health
Organisation. He has served as President of the Hospital Physicists' Association and
Institute of Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine, now IPEM; he has also
been President of the International Organisation for Medical Physics and is currently
President of the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in
Medicine.
To summarise Keith Boddy and his achievements one might borrow a phrase from
Shakespeare: ' he has bestridden the Medical Physics world like a Colossus'.
Amongst people who have had the privilege to work with and for him he is regarded
as a truly great mentor. Medical Physics is the poorer for his retirement, even though
it is only partial. His humour and wit are legendary. He is a public servant of great
intellect and integrity. His many achievements have been recognised in the award
initially of an OBE and subsequently a CBE.
Professor Keith Boddy is a more than worthy recipient of the award of Honorary
Fellowship of the Society for Radiological Protection.
SRP Honorary Fellow 1998 - Citation for Mr Alan Knight Alan Knight was born in Sussex on the 15th June 1936. His early education was interrupted by 4 years of medical treatment but he worked hard in his teens to make up for his lost schooling. In 1955 he went to Reading University where he was awarded an Honours degree in Physics. The award of an MSc in Reactor Physics and Technology at Birmingham University followed this. He joined Plessey Nucleonics as a Development Scientist then moved to F G Miles Engineering. This led to a post as Research Scientist working on neutron activation analysis applications at the National Institute for Metallurgy, Johannesburg, where he stayed for 3 years. This enabled him to pursue one of his hobbies and he was able to enjoy many hours watching cricket in South Africa. On his return to England he moved into radiation protection as a Scientist with the Neutron Studies Group at the Radiological Protection Service at Sutton in Surrey. It was here that he worked with Veronica who was later to become his wife. The neutron studies, started at the RPS, continued at Sutton through the early years of the National Radiological Protection Board up to1974 when he moved to the NRPB's Headquarters at Chilton. In the next twenty years Alan was responsible for radiation measurements and advice to Government Departments, industry and individuals on many aspects of radiation protection. His friendly approach and ability to readily explain technical matters made him the ideal scientist, at the Chilton Opening Ceremony, to show the Queen Mother around the Board's whole body monitor in the shielded room. Following the Windscale Inquiry he took part in the air-monitoring programme around Cumbria: he was also involved with fallout monitoring. Alan provided advice on radioactive consumer products and regularly lectured on this subject. When the RIMNET programme was being considered Alan was an obvious choice to be involved in the specification of the programme. His expertise led him into responsibilities for emergency planning. Radiation protection is a broad subject and Alan played significant roles in many areas. Alan also found time for Trade Union activities and was an official of the NRPB Branch of the IPMS for 4 years. Alan retired from NRPB in 1994. With such a busy career it may seem surprising that Alan should be able to serve the Society in so many ways for over a decade. He joined the Society in 1976 and within a short time he was serving on our Electoral Committee. However his prime period was as Secretary from 1989 to 1998, a post which he held far longer than any previous Officer. Nine years as Secretary without missing a single meeting is a remarkable record. The Society grew from some 800 members up to about 1,100 in that period. Indeed the growth of the Society led to the need for administrative assistance: Alan was much involved in specifying and securing the current successful administrative arrangements we now value. Portsmouth 1994 was the venue for the Society's 5th International Symposium and Alan was the Secretary of the Organising Committee. This was at a time before administrative assistance and also when the Committee Chairman was abroad in the year prior to the Symposium. As Secretary of the Society Alan attended meetings of the Society's many Committees. He became a fount of knowledge about the Society. His advice was always respected and his work much valued. One of Alan's important contributions to the success of our Society was his involvement in much of the work that led to SRP becoming the UK Affiliate Society to IRPA. This had long been an ambition and he was delighted to have helped to achieve this goal. The local community around Blewbury has also benefited from Alan's dedication. He
is Treasurer of several local societies and of funds associated with local churches: he is
auditor or independent examiner for various local clubs and committees. He has been a
school governor and clerk to the Governors.
Alan has been a keen gardener for much of his life: he raises many vegetable plants that
are sold for the benefit of the Church. He and his wife are keen bridge players: in any
remaining time he enjoys walking, as long as there is no cricket to watch.
However, this is not the end of the story as Alan is about to embark, in April of this
year, upon a new career as the Parish Clerk in Blewbury.
Alan is a most deserving recipient of an Honorary Fellowship of the Society and
Council has great pleasure in presenting him to the Annual Meeting for their approval.
SRP Founders' Prize 1998 - Citation for Dr Mark Little Mark's early education was in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and Washington DC. He then studied at Trinity College Cambridge and passed with distinction the advanced Part Three of the Mathematics Tripos and subsequently a D. Phil in Mathematics at New College, Oxford. After a short early experience as a mathematical modeller for the Coal Board, obtaining an MSc in operational research and statistics on the way, his interests turned to radiation research. He joined the research laboratories of the (then) Central Electricity Generating Board at Berkeley. During his 4 years there he began a study of the Japanese bomb survivors which has influenced his career ever since. He was among the first to realise the need for a number of special considerations when applying the Japanese data to general radiological protection. Topics that he has pioneered include consideration of the various methods of transferring risks across populations; the dependence of risk on age at exposure and time since exposure; and the application of multistage modelling to the Japanese and other exposed groups. In response to the findings of Martin Gardner regarding childhood cancer risks and paternal pre-conception irradiation (PPI), he began work which led to a series of publications which were uniquely influential in showing that the Seascale excess of childhood cancers were statistically incompatible with the Japanese data and various other studies of PPI. In 1991 Mark moved to the National Radiological Protection Board where he now works as a specialist in the Epidemiology Group. In recent years he has expanded his work to include a number of clinically exposed groups so as to present the Japanese data together with 'non-bomb' data. His work on pre-conception exposure risks of leukaemia in the offspring of the Japanese atomic bomb survivors has been extended beyond that study and applied to the Sellafield workforce, the Ontario and Scottish radiation workforces, and the offspring of the Danish Thorotrast patients (who were subject to high internal alpha exposures). In the past 10 years he has published more than 90 papers, many in the Journal of Radiological Protection. The breadth of his application of mathematical techniques to
radiation epidemiology is illustrated by recent publications that span issues such as genetic
risk and radiosensitivity in heterogeneous populations, and accident consequence uncertainty
analysis. He has played a major role in the ongoing analysis of cancer mortality in the
National Registry for Radiation Workers. He has acted as a consultant to the Committee on
Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment, is a member of an International Atomic
Energy Agency task group on assessment of probability of causation and has acted as
Scientific Secretary to the Advisory Groups on Ionising and Non-Ionising Radiation. In the
past decade he has become the UK's foremost expert on the Japanese bomb survivor data and
on a number of associated studies such as multistage modelling. He is widely called on as an
invited speaker in these areas at international level.
He finds spare time with his wife and two sons for making music and thinking. He is an
Ensemble member of the Oxford University Musical Society and a founder member of the
Thornbury Philosophical circle.
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