William Taylor Ham

William Taylor Ham was an Indian-born American health physicist and founding member of the Health Physics Society.

Early life

Ham was born in 1908 in Chhapra in the Indian state of Bihar, to William Ham and Lucy Ham. After graduating from Episcopal High School, he attended the University of Virginia and earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1931, an M.S.in Physics in 1933, and Ph.D. in Physics in 1935. From the University of Virginia, Ham went to Columbia University in 1936 for a year to teach physics.

In 1940, Ham married Jean Stratton Anderson (b. 1913) of Aberdeen, Scotland. They had two children, Christina Duncan Anderson Ham and Elspeth Read Ham.

Career

In 1938, Ham returned to the University of Virginia to assist Jesse Beams and Leland B. Snoddy. In 1940, he worked on the development of ultracentrifuges for the separation of uranium isotopes as part of the Manhattan Project.[1]

During World War II, Ham served with the United States Marine Corps in the South Pacific. At the end of World War II, he was assigned as a radar officer to the 5th AA Battalion on Okinawa and reached the rank of Major.

Ham subsequently left the Marine Corps in 1946 and returned to Charlottesville, Virginia to head the Division of Physics and Engineering at the Institute of Textile Technology.[1]

Biophysics

In 1948, Ham joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) as an associate professor. He worked with Dr. Everett I. Evans and his team to study the biological effects of thermal and ionizing radiation in nuclear warfare. In 1951, Ham participated in "Operation Ranger", conducted in Nevada. The data from the tests benefited studies on thermal flash burns, and assisted the US military. In 1952, working with Everett I. Evans, Ham studied the ‘first hand’ effects of flash burns. Ham participated as a subject in the studies, and was able to improve the research methodology through these first person cause-and-effect results.[1][2]

In 1953, the Medical College of Virginia introduced the Department of Biophysics. Ham became the first chair and was promoted to full professor. He taught courses on biophysics and radiobiology and continued research on retinal burns in rabbits.

In 1956, Ham went to Japan with a five-man team on request from the National Research Council and the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission. The team analyzed the data on the exact level of radiation exposure for each survivor of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The results of their findings became the "Project Ichiban".[1]

Health Physics Society

In the midyear issue of Science the announcement came of the formation new national scientific organization for health physicists at the 3 day Health Physics Conference at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio on 14 June 1955.[3] The organization was temporarily named "Health Physics Society", and Karl Z. Morgan of the Health Physics Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory was elected interim president. Other interim officers are:

First board of directors

Talks regarding the formation of a professional society had been ongoing for several years. The health physicists had decided to form an independent organization rather than attach to an existing group.
Directors of the Health Physics Society included:

Consultant work

Laser research

In the 1960s, as laser technology developed, Ham began to study the ocular effects of laser radiation and other light sources such as the sun. Ham researched the damaging effects of extended exposure to blue light and age-related macular degeneration.

Professor emeritus

In 1976, Ham retired as chair of Biophysics and was named professor emeritus. He continued as an active researcher until 1989.

Recognition

Health Physics Society

Professional service

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "A Guide to the Papers of Dr. William T. Ham, Jr., 1933-1996 Ham, William T., Jr. Papers of 2010/May/5". ead.lib.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  2. ↑ Eckart, Wolfgang Uwe (2006). Man, Medicine, and the State: The Human Body as an Object of Government Sponsored Medical Research in the 20th Century. Franz Steiner Verlag. ISBN 978-3-515-08794-0.
  3. ↑ "News of Science". Science. 122 (15 July 1955): 112. 15 July 1955. Bibcode:1955Sci...122..112W. doi:10.1126/science.122.3159.112.
  4. ↑ Official Register of the United States, 1952. U.S. Civil Service Commission, Washington, D.C.
  5. ↑ George M. Wilkening Award in Laser Safety
  6. ↑ HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 403, (10 May 2000). On the death of William T. Ham, Jr.
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