Biographical Memoirs Volume 86 (2005) / Chapter Skim
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Norman Carl Rasmussen
Norman Carl Rasmussen
Pages 260-275
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nuclear weapons testing programs of the 1950s and 1960s. His most influential work was in directing the Atomic Energy Commission study on nuclear safety, published as WASH 1400 but better known as the Rasmussen Report.
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As a farm boy in the depths of the Great Depression he had to learn how to care for animals, how to service and maintain farm equipment, and how to build or repair farm buildings and facilities. The result was that he became very proficient in using his hands, and very motivated to use his intelligence.
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ACADEMIC CAREER Norm completed his Ph.D. in 1956, and his thesis was entitled "Standardization of Electron Capture isotopes." This was a very creative experimental thesis involved in determining absolute nuclear decay rates.
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This led him to a major program for the measurement of spent nuclear fuel composition, a matter of significant importance to the nuclear weapons programs where both tritium and plutonium were created in production reactors. This work also brought him international renown, as the international Atomic Energy Agency adopted his techniques for use in proliferation studies.
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In 1966 Tommy began a special summer program in nuclear power plant safety. This program brought together leading experts in all aspects of safety, including reactor physics and engineering, materials problems, instrumentation and control issues, plant operations, modeling and simulation, and plant licensing.
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He was very fortunate to have as a close collaborator, Saul Levine, who was then the deputy director of the Office of Research at the A E C Together they began to review potential tools for risk analysis and encountered some classic work by Chauncey Starr and F
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He was an extraordinary witness due to his great depth of knowledge, his ability to put complex issues in a comprehensible form, his obviously forthright presentations, and his wonderful sense of humor. At one hearing Senator Pastore was presiding.
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After TMI the Nuclear Regulatory Commission began to use probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) for specific safety issues; for example, the issues regarding loss of offside power to a station were analyzed and found to be significant, leading to new regulations.
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He was named head of the Nuclear Engineering Department in 1975 and served in that position for seven years. In 1983 he was named the McAfee Professor of Nuclear Engineering.
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He would visit barn sales throughout New England to find old beams and boards and incorporate these into his home. As part of his land clearing he purchased an abandoned bulldozer and restored it to operating condition.
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Subsequently they enjoyed together four grandchildren. Norm was blessed with intelligence, a strong work ethic, and a wonderful family life that was apparent to all who knew him.
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I WOULD LIKE TO THANK several colleagues and friends for their assistance in preparing this biography. Gordon Brownell, Frank Masse, and Costa Maletskos were with Norm in his early years in the Radioactivity Center and provided much valuable information.
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The nondestructive measurement of burnup by gamma-ray spectroscopy. In Proceedings of the International Atomic Energy Agency Syrnposiurr on Nuclear Material Management, pp.
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1975 Safety and risks of nuclear power. In Proceedings of the international Sin~posiuD~ on Nuclear Pouer Technology and Econonucs (under the auspices of the National Science Council with the co-sponsorship of the institute of Nuclear Energy Research, the Taiwan Power Company, and the National Tsinghua University)
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New York: McGraw-Hill. 1980 Setting safety criteria.
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