1993 WILLIAM McADAMS OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

Presented to KENNETH W. SKRABLE by the American Board of Health Physics at the 38th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society, Atlanta, Georgia, July 11-15, 1993

(click here for acceptance remarks)

Shortly after its organization, the Health Physics Society (HPS) established a committee to study the need for certification of health physicists and to develop plans for certification, if this appeared to be desirable. The Certification Committee membership included an energetic and farsighted young man by the name of William McAdams. After an intensive study, the Committee recommended that an American Board of Health Physics (ABHP) be established to develop standards and procedures, to examine candidates, and to issue written proof of certification to individuals who satisfied the requirements established by the ABHP. The Board of Directors of the Society decided that these recommendations had merit and appointed a temporary ABHP on November 8, 1958, and named William McAdams as Chairman.

The temporary ABHP developed a set of minimum requirements for certification. At the Annual Meeting of the Society June 1959, these matters were discussed in an open meeting and there was general support for the plan. The Board of Directors of the Society formally established the ABHP by approving an amendment to the By-Laws of the Society in October 1959 and appointed William McAdams as Chairman. Under his leadership, the ABHP worked diligently to become incorporated in the state of New York in December 1960, allowing the ABHP to achieve its independent identity.

On the 30th anniversary of the ABHP four years ago, we inaugurated the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award to recognize on an annual basis those individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of professionalism and to health physics certification. This award is named for the person who exercised strong and dedicated efforts to identify the need, define the concept, organize the body, obtain the charter, and implement the initial certification program. That year, William McAdams was recognized as the first Chairman of the ABHP and Jack Healy was the first recipient of the McAdams Award for his substantial contributions to the formation and early development of the ABHP.

The award has been presented annually since that time to individuals who have made long-term and significant contributions to the certification process and have elevated professionalism in health physics.

This year we are pleased to announce the fifth recipient of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award, Kenneth W. Skrable. Ken is widely recognized for his ABHP question and answer column in the HPS Newsletter, his certification preparation course, his direct involvement with and mentoring of health physics students at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and his leadership of professional enrichment program courses at HPS meetings. His contributions to the certification process and continued professionalism in health physics have been important to those striving for certification and certified health physicists obtaining continuing education. It would be interesting to know how many certified health physicists were aided in their preparation by a Ken Skrable course or course handouts.

Ken willingly gives of his time and expertise and is consistently dedicated to improvements in the field of health physics. In addition to his involvement in initial and continuing education of health physicists, Ken has made many other contributions to the field during his career. He served as reviewer for the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements SC-54 committee, serviced on several ANSI committees, primarily those dealing with internal dosimetry, and has numerous publications to his credit. He is also involved in many public service activities, such as presenting Radiation and Life lectures to various organizations, conducting radon evaluation for the public, and serving on the Massachusetts Nuclear Incidents Advisory Team and the talent pool for the Committee on Interagency Radiation Research and Policy Coordination (CIRRPC).

In addition to his many visible professional involvements, Ken has quietly assisted in a behind-the-scenes role, for example, as an independent technical reviewer of the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists question bank.

Few persons are actively contributing to the advancement of professionalism in health physics in such a consistent and unselfish manner and on so many fronts. Therefore, it is with pride and appreciation that we recognize Kenneth W. Skrable as this year's recipient of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award.

Ruth E. McBurney, Chair ABHP Awards Committee, Vice Chair ABHP
Carl H. Distenfeld, Chairman ABHP
Paul S. Rohwer, Past President AAHP

1992 WILLIAM McADAMS OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

Presented to LESTER A. SLABACK, JR. by the American Board of Health Physics at the 37th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society, Columbus, Ohio, June 21-25, 1992

(click here for acceptance remarks)

Shortly after its organization, the Health Physics Society established a committee to study the need for certification of health physicists and to develop plans for certification, if this appeared to be desirable. The Certification Committee membership included an energetic and farsighted young man by the name of William A. McAdams. After an intensive study, the Committee recommended that an American Board of Health Physics (ABHP) be established to develop standards and procedures, to examine candidates, and to issue written proof of certification to individuals who satisfied the requirements established by the ABHP. The Board of Directors of the Society decided that these recommendations had merit and appointed a temporary ABHP on November 8, 1958. The Chairman of the temporary ABHP was none other than William McAdams.

The temporary ABHP developed a set of minimum requirements for certification. At the Annual Meeting of the Society in June 1959, these matters were discussed in an open meeting and there was general support for the plan. The Board of Directors of the Society formally established the ABHP by approving an amendment to the By-Laws of the Society in October 1959 and appointed William McAdams as Chairman. Under his leadership, the ABHP worked diligently to become incorporated in the state of New York in December 1960, allowing the ABHP to achieve its independent identity.

Three years ago, on the 30th anniversary of the ABHP, we recognized two of the pioneers who contributed substantially to our formation and early development - William McAdams, as the first Chairman of the ABHP, and Jack Healy, as the inaugural winner of the William A. McAdams Outstanding Service Award to annual recognize those individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of professionalism and the health physics certification. This award is named for the person who exercised strong and dedicated efforts to identify the need, define the concept, organize the body, obtain the charter, and implement the initial certification program.

The second recipient of the award was H. Wade Patterson, an emeritus CHP who was involved with the certification process for over a decade. Last year we recognized Richard R. Bowers for his numerous contributions to the activities of ABHP, active involvement in the certification process for nearly two decades, and the elevation of professionalism, especially in the power reactor health physics community.

This year we announce with pleasure the fourth recipient of the William A. McAdams Outstanding Service Award, Lester A. Slaback, Jr. Les has been involved in the certification process and has made many contributions to the professional advancement of the field of health physics. In the early 1970s, he helped continue the development of the Baltimore-Washington Chapter Exam Preparation Course, probably the oldest and one of the best (if not the best) of its kind. He has served as a lecturer for this and other preparational courses and was instrumental in the successful conduct of a number of topical seminars in the field of health physics. Les has worked continuously to make the Chapter's basic radiological health course successful, especially in reaching professionals in other scientific fields and policy analysts. HE was also a driving force in the formation of the Health Physics Society's Professional Enrichment Program in 1983.

Les served as Chairman of the ABHP Continuing Education Panel from 1976-1980, during the Panel's formative years. In 1982, Les was appointed to the ABHP , where he served as Vice Chair in 1983 and 1984, and as the Chair in 1985. Les was a member of the initial ABHP Part I Panel and is still serving on that group. He is also currently serving as a Director on the American Academy of Health Physics Executive Committee.

A true professional health physicist, Les has made many contributions to the field during his career. He served as a consultant to the Defense Nuclear Agency on the cleanup of Enewetak. HE was also a supervisory health physicist at the National Bureau of Standards, now National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in Accelerators and Laboratory Health Physics, and is currently serving at the NIST Research Reactor. Les has served on the NCRP workgroup for Accelerator Radiation Protection and is currently a member of the Committee on Interagency Radiation Research and Policy Coordination (CIRRPC) Occupational Radiation Protection Research Subpanel.

Through the years, Les has been a steady contributor to the Certification programs, providing a veritable stream of ideas, proposals, analyses and constructive criticisms. Only one example is the recent submission of 47 sample Part I questions worthy of Panel review. He also participated in the analysis of ten years of Part II test data. In addition, Les has maintained the highest standards of professionalism, a continued enthusiasm and a clever sense of humor.

There can be but few persons within the field who have been more consistent and more productive in their devotion to advancement of the profession or more dedicated to the certification process. Hence, it is with great pride and appreciation that we recognize Les Slaback, Jr., as this year's recipient of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award.

Ruth E. McBurney, Chair ABHP Awards Committee, Vice Chairman ABHP
Carl H. Distenfeld, Chairman ABHP
John A. Auxier, Past President AAHP

1991 WILLIAM McADAMS OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

Presented to RICHARD R. BOWERS by the American Board of Health Physics at the 36th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society, Washington, DC, July 21-26, 1991

(click here for acceptance remarks)

Shortly after its organization, the Health Physics Society established a committee to study the need for certification of health physicists and to develop plans for certification, if this appeared to be desirable. The Certification Committee membership included an energetic and farsighted young man by the name of William McAdams. After an intensive study, the Committee recommended that an American Board of Health Physics (ABHP) be established to develop standards and procedures, to examine candidates, and to issue written proof of certification to individuals who satisfied the requirements established by the ABHP. The Board of Directors of the Society decided that these recommendations had merit and appointed a temporary ABHP on November 8, 1958. The Chairman of the temporary ABHP was none other than William McAdams.

The temporary ABHP developed a set of minimum requirements for certification. At the Annual Meeting of the Society in June 1959, these matters were discussed in an open meeting and there was general support for the plan. The Board of Directors of the Society formally established the ABHP by approving an amendment to the bylaws of the Society in October 1959. William McAdams was appointed Chairman, and under his leadership, the ABHP worked diligently to become incorporated in New York State in December 1960, allowing the ABHP to achieve its independent identity.

Two years ago, on the 30th anniversary of the ABHP, we recognized two of the pioneers who contributed substantially to our formation and early development - William McAdams, as the first Chairman of the ABHP, and Jack Healy as the inaugural winner of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award to annual recognize those individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of professionalism and the health physics certification. This award is named for the person who exercised strong and dedicated efforts to identify the need, define the concept, organize the body, obtain the charter, and implement the initial certification program.

Last year we recognized H. Wade Patterson, an emeritus CHP who was involved with the certification process for more than a decade. It was during Wade's tenure that the Board advocated the formation of the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists (NRRPT), the abandonment of the oral exam as an option to the certification process, and the development of a method whereby each voce would be counted equally.

This year it is our pleasure to announce the third recipient of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award, Richard R. Bowers. Dick was involved with the certification process for nearly two decades, serving two terms on the Comprehensive Panel of Examiners from 1972 through 1978 and chairing that Panel in 1978; setting up and chairing the Power Reactor Specialty Panel from 1979 through 1981; serving on the ABHP from 1986 through 1990; and setting up and chairing the Part I Panel from 1988 through 1990. In all of his ABHP-related activities, Dick has been very generous with his time, and more importantly, with his ideas and wisdom. His contributions to the development and refinement of the certification process, as well as the ongoing conduct of the program, are numerous and substantial.

Dick is the type of CHP that the McAdams Award was meant to recognize. He was a key player in establishing the Power Reactor Specialty Certification, a program that has been instrumental in elevating the professionalism in the power reactor health physics community. Most recently his efforts to upgrade the Part I exam by using a computer model to help assure a consistently performing exam, and a question data base to track the performance of each question over a period of many years, have resulted in significant improvements in the quality of the Part I examination. Hence it is fitting that we should recognize Dick Bowers as the third recipient of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award.

Leroy Booth, Chairman ABHP

1990 WILLIAM McADAMS OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

Presented to H. WADE PATTERSON by the American Board of Health Physics at the 35th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society, Anaheim, California, June 24-28, 1990

(click here for acceptance photo)

Shortly after its organization, the Health Physics Society established a committee to study the need for certification of health physicists and to develop plans for certification, if this appeared to be desirable. The Certification Committee membership included an energetic and farsighted young man named William McAdams. After an intensive study, the Committee recommended that an American Board of Health Physics (ABHP) be established to develop standards and procedures, to examine candidates, and to issue written proof of certification to individuals who satisfied the requirements established by the ABHP. The Board of Directors of the Society decided that these recommendations had merit and appointed a temporary ABHP on November 8, 1958. The Chairman of the temporary ABHP was none other than William McAdams.

The temporary ABHP developed a set of minimum requirements for certification. At the Annual Meeting of the Society in June 1959, these matters were discussed in an open meeting and there was general support for the plan. The Board of Directors of the Society formally established the ABHP by approving an amendment to the By-Laws of the Society in October 1959 and appointed William McAdams as Chairman. Under his leadership, the ABHP worked diligently to become incorporated in the state of New York in December 1960, allowing the ABHP to achieve its independent identity.

Last year, on the 30th anniversary of the ABHP, we recognized two of the pioneers who contributed substantially to our formation and early development; William McAdams, as the first Chairman of the ABHP, and Jack Healy, as the inaugural winner of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award to annual recognize those individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of professionalism and the health physics certification. This award is named for the person who exercised strong and dedicated efforts to identify the need, define the concept, organize the body, obtain the charter, and implement the initial certification program.

This year it is our pleasure to announce the second recipient, H. Wade Patterson (emeritus CHP). Wade was involved with the certification process for more than a decade, serving as vice-chairman of the Board in 1979 and 1970 and as chairman from 1971 through 1974. Following a 2-year absence, he again became involve with the certification process as a 4-year comprehensive panel member from 1977 through 1980. It was during Wade's tenure that the Board advocated the formation of the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists (NRRPT) and assisted in its development. Experiences of the Board during his term also led to the abandonment of the oral exam as an option to the certification process.

In addition to his active Board and Panel involvement, Wade was chairman of the Nominating Committee in the formative stages of development of the American Academy of Health Physics. As such, he devised the method whereby each vote was counted equally. Wade has served the profession, academy, and his peers as a leader in preserving the professional ethics of certification. Therefore, it is fitting that we should recognize Wade Patterson as the second recipient of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award.

Lee Booth, Chairman ABHP

WILLIAM McADAMS OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

Presented to JOHN W. HEALY by the American Board of Health Physics, June 1989

Citation

Shortly after its organization, the Health Physics Society established a committee to study the need for certification of health physicists and to develop plans for certification if this appeared to be desirable. The Certification Committee membership included an energetic and farsighted young man by the name of William McAdams. After an intensive study, the Committee recommended that an American Board of Health Physics (ABHP) be established to develop standards and procedures, to examine candidates, and to issue written proof of certification to individuals who satisfied the requirements established by ABHP. The Board of Directors of the Society decided that these recommendations had merit and appointed a temporary ABHP on November 8, 1959. The Chairman of the temporary ABHP was none other than William McAdams.

The temporary ABHP developed a set of minimum requirements for certification. After carefully reviewing the professional background of 100 selected individuals believed to be representative of those recognized as competent health physicists, these names were submitted to the membership of the Society for comment. Included on that list was another mover and shaker in the certification movement by the name of John W. (Jack) Healy.

At the Annual Meeting of the Society in June 1959, these matters were discussed in an open meeting and there was general support for the plan.

The Board of Directors of the Society formally established the ABHP by approving an amendment to the By-Laws of the Society in October, 1959. William McAdams was appointed Chairman and Jack Healy became Secretary-Treasurer of the inaugural ABHP. The ABHP, under McAdams' leadership, worked diligently to become incorporated in the State of New York in December, 1960. This incorporation allowed the ABHP to achieve its independent identity. We were told that this was the first time New York had ever incorporated a certification body.

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the ABHP. What better time to recognize two of the pioneers who contributed so substantially to our formation and early development. Consequently I am pleased to announce the inauguration of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award to annually recognize those individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of professionalism and health physics certification. This award is named for the man who exercised strong and dedicated efforts to identify the need, define the concept, organize the body, obtain the charter, and implement the initial certification program.

The second person to be honored today is the first recipient of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award. This pioneer kept the certification program on track when Elda Anderson, the second Chairman of the ABHP, fell ill only a few months into her term of office. Jack took over the Chairmanship to finish her term and then served an additional year as Chairman. During this critical time, he also developed the Code of Ethics which constitutes the backbone of the CHP's ethical standards to this day. Jack is known to many as a witty, un-pretentious and versatile health physicist, and as the epitome of an applied Certified Health Physicist. It is most fitting that today we should recognize Jack Healy as the first recipient of the William McAdams Outstanding Service Award.

Granted June 1989

Howard Dickson, Chair Awards Committee, Vice Chairman ABHP
Frazier Bronson, Chairman ABHP
John Horan, Past President AAHP