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John E. Till

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For other people named John Till, see John Till (disambiguation).
John Earl Till
PhD; RADM, USNR, Ret.
Born(1945-01-26)January 26, 1945
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Education
Known forRadiological risk assessment and environmental analysis
AwardsHealth Physics Society Elda E Anderson Award[1]
[E.O. Lawrence Award][2]
L.S. Taylor Medal[3]
Health Physics Society's Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award[4]
Scientific career
FieldsNuclear science
ThesisThe Toxicity of Uranium and Plutonium to the Developing Embryos of Fish (1976)
Doctoral advisorGeoffrey G. Eichholz, Ph.D.
Other academic advisorsBernd Kahn, Ph.D.; Karl Z. Morgan, Ph.D.; C.J. Roberts, Ph.D.
Service / branch
Years of service1967–1999
Rank Rear admiral (O‑8)
Commands
Awards

John E. Till is an American nuclear scientist who is known for his research on the risk of exposure to radioactive materials released to the environment from nuclear facilities and is a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in nuclear engineering. Till also served as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy, both on active duty and in the United States Naval Reserve, retiring from the Reserve as rear admiral (a two-star flag officer). Till is also the president of Risk Assessment Corporation and Embeford Farm of SC, LLC.

Early life and education

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John Till attended primary and secondary school in East Point, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. During the summers of his childhood, he worked with his three uncles and grandfather on their dairy farm near Orangeburg, South Carolina.[5]

Till graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1967.[6] Following his active-duty service, he received his M.S. degree in radiation biology and health physics from Colorado State University in 1972.[7] He earned his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1976[8] while also working on the staff of the Health and Safety Research Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).[9] His doctoral research at Oak Ridge focused on the impact of highly toxic isotopes of uranium-232, uranium-238, plutonium-238, and plutonium-244 in the aquatic environment in support of advanced nuclear reactor fuels.[10]

Scientific career

[edit]

Following the death of two uncles on the farm in 1977, Till moved back to his family's 1100-acre dairy farm in South Carolina to prevent the farm's sale and to carry on its heritage.[11][12]

He simultaneously founded Risk Assessment Corporation,[13] a privately-owned business that enabled him to pursue his scientific interests in radiological risk assessment[14] while operating the farm.[15] Leading RAC, he continued to focus on mathematical modeling of radioactive materials in the environment and their dose to humans[16] and the communication of risk.[17]

In 1983 he and his co-editor H. Robert Meyer published the anthology Radiological Assessment, A Textbook on Environmental Dose Analysis.[18] Twenty-five years later a revised and updated version was published, this time edited by Till and Helen A. Grogan and titled Radiological Risk Assessment and Environmental Analysis.[19] A reviewer described it as a revision as "based on many years of experience by acknowledged experts in their fields", and noted that it would serve both as a textbook for students and a reference for practitioners.[20]

The textbook and technical methods of application were applied to events such as Three Mile Island[21] and Chernobyl.[22] Consequently, in 1983 he received the Health Physics Society Elda E Anderson Award given to scientists under 40 in recognition of their excellence in research and significant contributions to science.[23]

Historical radiation dose reconstruction on sites with past radioactive contamination is one of Till's specialties. He directed the historical dose reconstruction for the Hanford Site in Washington State, and created a blueprint for major studies of Department of Energy sites.[24] He was awarded the E. O. Lawrence Award in 1994 for this work.[25][26]

He was the principal investigator for the first study of America’s Atomic Veterans.[27][28] He was the principal investigator in historical dose reconstruction studies for the Nevada Test Site,[29] the Rocky Flats Site,[30] the Fernald Feed Materials Facility,[31] the Savannah River Site,[32] the Apollo Uranium Processing Facility,[33] the Cerro Grande Fire at the Los Alamos National Laboratory,[34] and the Woolsey Fire at Santa Susana Field Laboratory.[35] Till's research on these and other facilities and accidents involving the release of radioactive materials to the environment spans 50 years and has been used as a model both in the US and internationally.[36]

[edit]

Following U.S. Navy nuclear power training and the Submarine Officer Basic Course,[37] Till served aboard the USS Guardfish (SSN 612) where he qualified in submarines.[38] He continued his navy career in the United States Naval Reserve retiring as a two-star admiral (O-8) in 1999.[39] As a reserve flag officer, he served as Chairman on the National Navy Reserve Policy Board.[40][41] He is the recipient of the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Navy Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Commendation Medal (two awards), and the Navy Achievement Medal.[42]

Awards

[edit]
  • In 1983 he received the Health Physics Society Elda E Anderson Award[43] given to scientists under 40 in recognition of their excellence in research and significant contributions to science.[44]
  • In 1994, Dr. Till received the E.O. Lawrence Award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in the field of Environmental Science and Technology.[45] He was selected for this honor for his work in public involvement and research in dose reconstruction.
  • In 2013, he received the L.S. Taylor Medal[46] and presented the Taylor Lecture[47][48][49] at the annual meeting of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements.
  • In 2020, he received the Health Physics Society's Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award[50][51] for development of scientific knowledge for the protection of humankind and the environment.
  • In 2024, he and his colleagues received the Editorial Board of the Health Physics Journal "Paper of the Year" award.[52][53]


References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Elda E. Anderson Award Recipients".
  2. ^ "1990s Laureates". Department of Energy.
  3. ^ "Lauriston S. Taylor Lectures on Radiation Protection & Measurements - NCRP | Bethesda, MD". 26 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award Recipients".
  5. ^ Mckinney, John; Lancaster, Bob. ""Harvest Cover-The Good Earth Gives Forth"". The Progressive Farmer. 82 (7).
  6. ^ "Annual register of the United States Naval Academy. Annapolis, Md". U.S. Government Printing Office. 1968.
  7. ^ Whicker, F.W. (February 2014). "Introduction of the 37th Annual Lauriston S. Taylor Lecturer". Health Physics. 106 (2): 146–147. Bibcode:2014HeaPh.106..146W. doi:10.1097/HP.0000000000000003. PMID 24378487.
  8. ^ "John E. Till". National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. 15 June 2015.
  9. ^ Till, J.E. (January 1975). Comparison of the potential radiological impact of recycle 233U HTGR fuel and LMFBR plutonium fuel released to the environment. Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn (USA).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Till, J. E. (1978). "The Effect of Chronic Exposure to 238Pu(IV) Citrate on the Embryonic Development of Carp and Fathead Minnow Eggs". Health Physics. 34 (4): 333–43. Bibcode:1978HeaPh..34..333T. doi:10.1097/00004032-197804000-00003. PMID 566735.
  11. ^ Milkie, Joyce (1990). "A Nuclear Scientist Down on the Farm". No. 2. Sandlapper, The Magazine of South Carolina. pp. 80–82.
  12. ^ Pope, Charles; Pardue, Douglas (November 1993). "Scientist commanding bomb research from farm post". The State Newspaper.
  13. ^ "About Us". Risk Assessment Corporation.
  14. ^ "SRS Team Learns from Radiological Risk Assessment Leader".
  15. ^ Hayworth, Andrew (March 21, 1999). "Nuclear Pioneer". The Times and Democrat.
  16. ^ Till, J. E.; Hoffman, F. O.; Dunning, D. E. (1979). "A New Look at 99Tc Releases to the Atmosphere". Health Physics. 36 (1): 21–30. Bibcode:1979HeaPh..36...21T. doi:10.1097/00004032-197901000-00005. PMID 570562.
  17. ^ Till, John (2011). "Building Trust, Credibility, and Respect in Environmental Risk Assessment". Health Physics.
  18. ^ Till, John E.; Meyer, H. Robert (September 1983). Radiological Assessment: A Textbook on Environmental Dose Analyses. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
  19. ^ Till, John E.; Grogan, Helen A. (July 10, 2008). Radiological Risk Assessment and Environmental Analysis. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195127270.
  20. ^ Linsley, Gordon (2009). "Radiological Risk Assessment and Environmental Analysis". Health Physics. 96 (4): 515. Bibcode:2009HeaPh..96..515L. doi:10.1097/01.HP.0000342829.47430.18. ISSN 0017-9078.
  21. ^ Meinhold, Charles B.; Leonard, Emma; Jacobs, Donald; Templeton, William; Till, John E. (1987). Guidelines for the release of waste water from nuclear facilities with special reference to the public health significance of the proposed release of treated waste waters at Three Mile Island. Bethesda, Md.: National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. ISBN 091339288X.
  22. ^ Till, John E. (February 1997). "A 1993 report on reconstruction of environmental exposures and uncertainties in support of epidemiological studies related to low-dose radiation". Stem Cells. 15 (S1): 175–181. doi:10.1002/stem.5530150725. PMID 9368302.
  23. ^ "Elda E. Anderson Award Recipients". Health Physics News.
  24. ^ Till, John E. (1995). "Building Credibility in Public Studies". American Scientist. 83 (5): 468–73. Bibcode:1995AmSci..83..468T. JSTOR 29775524.
  25. ^ "1990s Laureates". Department of Energy.
  26. ^ "1990s Laureates". Department of Energy.
  27. ^ Till, J.E.; Beck, H.L.; Aanenson, J.W.; Grogan, H.A.; Mohler, J.J.; Mohler, S.S.; Voillequé, P.G. (January 2019). "Dosimetry Associated with Veterans Who Participated in Nuclear Weapons Testing". International Journal of Radiation Biology. 98 (4). doi:10.1080/09553002.2018.1551639.
  28. ^ Boice, J.D.; Cohen, S.S.; Mumma, M.T.; Chen, H; Golden, A; Beck, H; Till, J.E. (2022). "Mortality among U.S. military participants at eight aboveground nuclear weapons test series". International Journal of Radiation Biology. 98 (4): 679-700. doi:10.1080/09553002.2020.1787543. PMID 32602389.
  29. ^ Kerber, R. A.; Till, J. E.; Simon, S. L.; Lyon, J. L.; Thomas, D. C.; Preston-Martin, S; Rallison, M. L.; Lloyd, R. D.; Stevens, W (November 3, 1993). "A cohort study of thyroid disease in relation to fallout from nuclear weapons testing". JAMA. 270 (17): 2076–2082. doi:10.1001/jama.1993.03510170066032. PMID 8411574.
  30. ^ Till, John E.; Rood, Arthur S.; Voillequé, Paul G; McGavran, Patricia D; Meyer, Kathleen R; Grogan, Helen A; Sinclair, Warren K; Aanenson, Jill W; Meyer, H Robert; Mohler, H Justin; Rope, Susan K; Case, Marilyn J (September 2002). "Risks to the public from historical releases of radionuclides and chemicals at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site". J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 12 (5): 355–72. Bibcode:2002JESEE..12..355T. doi:10.1038/sj.jea.7500237. PMID 12198584.
  31. ^ Till, J. E.; Killough, G. G.; Meyer, K. R.; Sinclair, W. S.; Voillequé, P. G.; Rope, S. K.; Case, M. J. (2000). "The Fernald Dosimetry Reconstruction Project". Technology. 7: 270–295.
  32. ^ Charles, Pope (November 14, 1993). "Scientists reconstructing SRS past". The State Newspaper.
  33. ^ Rood, Arthur S.; Grogan, Helen A.; Mohler, H Justin; Meyer, Kathleen R.; Voillequé, Paul G.; Till, John E. (October 16, 2019). "Reconstruction of atmospheric concentrations of enriched uranium from the former Apollo facility, Apollo, Pennsylvania, USA". J Environ Radioact . 211. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106045. PMID 31629194.
  34. ^ Grogan, Healther A.; Aanenson, Jill W.; McGavran, Patricia D.; Meyer, Kathleen R.; Mohler, Justin; Mohler, Shawn S.; Rocco, James R.; Rood, Arthur S.; Till, John E.; Wilson, Lesley H. (November 16, 2006). "Modeling of the Cerro Grande Fire at Los Alamos: An Independent Analysis of Exposure, Health Risk, and Communication with the Public". Applied Modeling and Computations in Nuclear Science. ACS Symposium Series. 945: 71–92. doi:10.1021/bk-2007-0945.ch006. ISBN 978-0-8412-3982-1.
  35. ^ Rood, Arthur S.; Mohler, Justin H.; Grogan, Helen A.; Mangini, Colby; Caffrey, Emily .; Till, John E. (April 1, 2023). "Potential Airborne Releases and Deposition of Radionuclides from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory during the Woolsey Fire". Health Physics. 124 (4): 257–284. Bibcode:2023HeaPh.124..257R. doi:10.1097/HP.0000000000001665. PMC 9940825. PMID 36749301.
  36. ^ Haworth, Andrew (March 21, 1999). "Nuclear Pioneer". The Times and Democrat.
  37. ^ https://www.netc.navy.mil/NSS/
  38. ^ "John Earl Till". The Navy Log. The U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation.
  39. ^ Haworth, Andrew (March 28, 1999). "Ceremony on 'Yorktown' marks Rear Admiral John Till's retirement". The Times and Democrat.
  40. ^ "10 USC 10303: Navy Reserve Policy Board".
  41. ^ "John Earl Till". The Navy Log. The U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation.
  42. ^ "John Earl Till". The Navy Log. The U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation.
  43. ^ "Elda E. Anderson Award Recipients".
  44. ^ "Elda E. Anderson Award Recipients". Health Physics News.
  45. ^ "1990s Laureates". Department of Energy.
  46. ^ Whicker, F. W. (February 2014). "Introduction of the 37th Annual Lauriston S. Taylor Lecturer". Health Physics. 106 (2): 146–147. Bibcode:2014HeaPh.106..146W. doi:10.1097/HP.0000000000000003. PMID 24378487.
  47. ^ Till, John E. (2014). "Lauriston S. Taylor Lecture on Radiation Protection and Measurements". Health Physics. 106 (2): 148–161. Bibcode:2014HeaPh.106..148T. doi:10.1097/HP.0000000000000023. PMID 24378488.
  48. ^ Till, John E. (March 11, 2013). ""When Does Risk Assessment Get Fuzzy?" 37th Taylor Lecture presented at the annual Meeting of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements". Health Physics. 106 (2).
  49. ^ Zalenski, Gene (March 4, 2013). "Hometown expert". The Times and Democrat.
  50. ^ "Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award Recipients".
  51. ^ Kirk, Scott (July 2020). "Introduction of the 2020 Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award Presented to John E. Till by the Health Physics Society". Health Physics. 119 (6): 669–670. doi:10.1097/HP.0000000000001362. PMID 33109912.
  52. ^ https://hps.org/newsandevents/newsarchive/oldnews2363.html
  53. ^ "Health Physics 2023 Michael T. Ryan Outstanding Paper of the Year Award". Health Physics News.
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