Karl Ziegler Morgan (September 27, 1907 – June 8, 1999), was an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

who was one of the founders of the field of radiation health physics. For almost three decades, he worked for the

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is sponsored by the United Sta ...

. Late in life, in 1982 he became a critic of nuclear power and

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...

production.

Early life and education

Born in Enochville, North Carolina in 1907, Karl Morgan attended Lenoir-Rhyne College (now University) as a freshman and sophomore and then transferred to the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, where he graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in physics and mathematics. He continued graduate study in physics at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, where he received a PhD degree in 1934 for research into

cosmic radiation Cosmic rays or astroparticles are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Sol ...

Career

He began an academic career as a faculty member at Lenoir Rhyne College, and was part of the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

. Morgan was initially at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory and later in Oak Ridge. He worked for

(ORNL) and Health Physics Society in executive roles. After his retirement from ORNL in 1972, he joined the faculty of

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

as professor of nuclear energy in the school of

nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering is the engineering discipline concerned with designing and applying systems that utilize the energy released by nuclear processes. The most prominent application of nuclear engineering is the generation of electricity. Worldwide ...

, retiring from that position in 1982. Thereafter he became a consulting professor at

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

."Dr. Karl Z. Morgan; Pioneer health physicist," ''The Oak Ridger'', June 10, 1999 Morgan died in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on June 8, 1999, apparently from a ruptured aortic

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

Reception

John Cameron, a developer of a

dosimeter A radiation dosimeter is a device that measures the equivalent dose, dose uptake of external ionizing radiation. It is worn by the person being monitored when used as a personal dosimeter, and is a record of the radiation dose received. Modern el ...

in the 1960s, criticized Morgan's autobiography. He wrote a posthumous critique, called the book otherwise interesting for its historical detailing of the

's health physics evolution and criticized what he called generally "flawed" anti-nuclear stance, an exaggeration of the Linear no-threshold model.

References

External links

Human Radiation Studies: Remembering the Early Years; Oral History of Health Physicist Karl Z. Morgan, Ph.D.
, conducted January 7, 1995, DOE/EH-0475, U.S. Department of Energy * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Karl Z. 1908 births 1999 deaths People from Enochville, North Carolina People associated with nuclear power Oak Ridge National Laboratory people Manhattan Project people People from Oak Ridge, Tennessee Health physicists Health Physics Society Fellows of the American Physical Society

Early life and education

Career

Reception

See also

References

External links