Richard Houghton Pratt, Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh, is a well known contributor and leader in the field of high energy atomic physics, as well as being an active environmentalist and experienced world traveler. He is also known for his assistance in the defection of many physicists from communist eastern bloc countries including Romania in the 1970s. Pratt was also involved in bringing Semester at Sea, a teaching voyage that circumnavigates the globe during a semester, to the University of Pittsburgh as well as being one of the first chairs of the local Sierra Club chapter. Pratt was born on May 5, 1934 in New York City. At the age of four he moved to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, attended elementary school there and then attended Mount Pleasant High School, 1946-50, where he was Valedictorian. In the fall of 1950, Richard Pratt went to the University of Chicago on a tuition scholarship. Having placed out of most college courses Pratt graduated in just two years at age eighteen. Following graduation Pratt was a National Science Foundation Fellow for one year before receiving his masters of science in 1955, and Ph.D. in 1959, both from the University of Chicago. While at the University of Chicago he took the last quantum mechanics course taught by Enrico Fermi. While at the University of Chicago he met his wife, Elizabeth Ann Glass, who was born January 2, 1933 in Orange, New Jersey. The Pratts were married in Chicago on November 1, 1958. A year later, after finishing his Ph.D., Richard accepted a post-doc position at Stanford University. Richard worked at Stanford as a research associate (1959-1961) and as an assistant professor (1961-1964) and Ann completed her Ph.D.. While teaching at Stanford he began a long relationship as a consultant for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at the University of California. In 1964 the Pratts moved to Pittsburgh where Richard accepted a job as associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh and Ann worked as an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh. She later had a research position at Carnegie Mellon University where she became a research scientist. Richard became a full professor in 1969 and a professor emeritus after his retirement in 1999. Richard and Ann have four children: Jonathan, Kathryn, Caroline and Paul. Richard has been involved in many environmental organizations, one of which is the Sierra Club. Richard and Ann Pratt joined the Sierra Club in 1965, shortly after moving to Pittsburgh. In 1970 Richard was invited to a meeting to organize a group in Pittsburgh. He served as the first vice-chair of the Allegheny Group eventually becoming its chair, 1974-1976. He worked on the designation of wilderness areas in the Allegheny National Forest including Tracy Ridge and the Allegheny Front, both of which became National Recreation Areas. In 1973 a hiking program was established and Richard has led hikes, at least once a month, ever since. Richard was chair of the Pennsylvania Chapter, 1976-1980, which included being chair at the time of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Harrisburg, Pa. He served on the Governor's Science Council for Pennsylvania including its Energy Facility Sitting Task Force. Richard also served on, and was chair of, the Appalachian Regional Conservation Committee; Sierra Club Regional Vice President, 1982-1983; and was a member of the Sierra Club National Council, 1980-1982.
From the description of Collection of Richard Pratt, 1820-2005 (bulk 1920-1998). (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 60403198
