Abelson, Philip Hauge

Biographical Note

• 1913, Apr. 27: Born, Tacoma, Wash.
• 1935: M.S., Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.
• 1936: Married Neva Martin (died 2000)
• 1939: Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Calif. Identified products of uranium fission
• 1940: Codiscoverer with Edwin M. McMillan of Element 93 (Neptunium)
• 1941 - 1945 : Associate physicist, physicist, senior physicist, and principal physicist, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
• 1945: Awarded U.S. Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medal
• 1946 - 1953 : Chairman, Biophysics Section, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.
• 1953 - 1971 : Director, Geophysics Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.
• 1959: Elected to National Academy of Sciences
• 1960 - 1963 : General Advisory Committee, Atomic Energy Commission
• 1962 - 1984 : Editor, Science magazine
• 1968 - 1981 : Council member, National Academy of Sciences, with a seven-year absence from 1971 to 1978
• 1971 - 1978 : President and trustee, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.
• 1972: Awarded Kalinga Prize, UNESCO
• 1978 - 1980 : Chairman, Board of Trustees, Bio-Energy Council
• 1984: Received Distinguished Public Service Award, National Science Foundation

From the guide to the Philip Hauge Abelson Papers, 1939-2002, (bulk 1970-1989), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)