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,w' ••mil PfiSlllfiBi JOHN HUBBELL EARNS AEBERSOLD ACCOLADE A ll nuclear medicine physi- cians and technologists use Hubbell's tables—although they may not realize it—when they withdraw a dose from a vial, inject it into a patient, erect a lead barrier, or decide whether an area is contami- nated, according to Marshall Brucer, MD, a past president of The Society of Nuclear Medicine. "We don't measure dose. We cal- culate it, and the calculations are based upon Hubbell's tables of at- tenuation coefficients," explained Dr. Brucer in support of bestowing the Paul C. Aebersold Award for Out- standing Achievement in Basic Sci- ence Applied to Nuclear Medicine on John H. Hubbell, a physicist at the Center for Radiation Research, Na- tional Bureau of Standards (NBS) in Gaithersburg, MD. Scattered radiation data Dr. Brucer first learned of Mr. Hubbell's work in the early 1950s. "We had built a mockup of the first teletherapy machine to use cobalt-60, and Aebersold did not agree with my shielding requirements. We were using the old NBS tables of x-ray ab- sorption, so Aebersold sent me to Hubbell's group to learn about scat- tered radiation," he recalled. Moses A. Greenfield, PhD, FACR, professor emeritus of medical physics at UCLA, said in his nominating let- ter last fall that his group's recent determination of the optimal scatter- ing angle and photon energy for an in vivo bone density measurement (7) would not have been possible without Mr. Hubbell's research. Mr. Hubbell gave nuclear medicine this essential data in his report on photon cross sections and attenuation coefficients (2), the most reknowned of his 62 publications. In another nuclear medicine appli- cation, two researchers at Columbia John Hubbell (left) meeting with Nobel laureate PA. Cherenkov at the Lebedev Pho meson Laboratory in Troitsk, near Moscow. (Courtesy of John Hubbell) University, New York, used Mr. Hub- bell's calculations of the radiation field of a rectangular source (5) to determine the dose rate to the inner ear during Mossbauer experiments (4). Mr. Hubbell's method was the only existing analytical solution to the "rectangular source problem" from 1960 to 1984, and is still the most widely used solution. In recognition of these contribu- tions, Mr. Hubbell will receive the coveted Aebersold plaque at the Society's 32nd Annual Meeting next month. The award commemorates the scientific pursuits of the Ameri- can physicist Paul C. Aebersold, PhD (1910-1967), the first director of the Division of Isotopes Development in the Atomic Energy Commission. Dr. Aebersold also played a key role in producing the first radioisotopes ad- ministered to human beings in the 1930s. In 1972, the Society established the award, and Mrs. Florence Aebersold presented the first one in 1973 to William G. Myers, PhD, MD, the Society's historian. The recipient is selected by the Society's Awards Committee. Born in Ann Arbor, MI, Mr. Hub- bell received his BSE in engineering physics and his MS in physics from the University of Michigan. He has worked for the NBS since 1950, beginning in the X-Ray Crystal Dif- fraction Group. Since 1951, he has worked in the Radiation Theory Section on research in measurements and theoretical anal- ysis of gamma-ray backscattering, sodium iodide detector response, and theoretical analysis of radiation fields from distributed sources. From 1963 to 1981, he directed the NBS X-Ray and Ionizing Radiation Data Center, and continues the work as a staff member of the NBS Photon and Charged Particle Data Center. This work entails collecting and critically evaluating experimental and theoretical cross-section data, and compiling tables of attenuation and energy-absorption coefficients. David W. Anderson, PhD, director of radiological physics at the City of Faith Medical and Research Center in Tulsa, OK, noted that Mr. Hubbell initiates and maintains an extensive international correspondence with (continued on page 452) 450 The Journal of Nuclear Medicine by on May 20, 2018. For personal use only. jnm.snmjournals.org Downloaded from
Transcript of JOHN HUBBELL EARNS AEBERSOLD ACCOLADE Ajnm.snmjournals.org/content/26/5/450.full.pdf · ,w'...
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JOHN HUBBELL EARNS AEBERSOLD ACCOLADE
All nuclear medicine physicians and technologists use Hubbell's tables—although
they may not realize it—when they withdraw a dose from a vial, inject it into a patient, erect a lead barrier, or decide whether an area is contaminated, according to Marshall Brucer, MD, a past president of The Society of Nuclear Medicine.
"We don't measure dose. We calculate it, and the calculations are based upon Hubbell's tables of attenuation coefficients," explained Dr. Brucer in support of bestowing the Paul C. Aebersold Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Science Applied to Nuclear Medicine on John H. Hubbell, a physicist at the Center for Radiation Research, National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in Gaithersburg, MD.
Scattered radiation data
Dr. Brucer first learned of Mr. Hubbell's work in the early 1950s. "We had built a mockup of the first teletherapy machine to use cobalt-60, and Aebersold did not agree with my shielding requirements. We were using the old NBS tables of x-ray absorption, so Aebersold sent me to Hubbell's group to learn about scattered radiation," he recalled.
Moses A. Greenfield, PhD, FACR, professor emeritus of medical physics at UCLA, said in his nominating letter last fall that his group's recent determination of the optimal scattering angle and photon energy for an in vivo bone density measurement (7) would not have been possible without Mr. Hubbell's research.
Mr. Hubbell gave nuclear medicine this essential data in his report on photon cross sections and attenuation coefficients (2), the most reknowned of his 62 publications.
In another nuclear medicine application, two researchers at Columbia
John Hubbell (left) meeting with Nobel laureate PA. Cherenkov at the Lebedev Photo-meson Laboratory in Troitsk, near Moscow. (Courtesy of John Hubbell)
University, New York, used Mr. Hubbell's calculations of the radiation field of a rectangular source (5) to determine the dose rate to the inner ear during Mossbauer experiments (4). Mr. Hubbell's method was the only existing analytical solution to the "rectangular source problem" from 1960 to 1984, and is still the most widely used solution.
In recognition of these contributions, Mr. Hubbell will receive the coveted Aebersold plaque at the Society's 32nd Annual Meeting next month. The award commemorates the scientific pursuits of the American physicist Paul C. Aebersold, PhD (1910-1967), the first director of the Division of Isotopes Development in the Atomic Energy Commission. Dr. Aebersold also played a key role in producing the first radioisotopes administered to human beings in the 1930s.
In 1972, the Society established the award, and Mrs. Florence Aebersold presented the first one in 1973 to William G. Myers, PhD, MD, the Society's historian. The recipient is selected by the Society's Awards Committee.
Born in Ann Arbor, MI, Mr. Hubbell received his BSE in engineering physics and his MS in physics from the University of Michigan. He has worked for the NBS since 1950, beginning in the X-Ray Crystal Diffraction Group.
Since 1951, he has worked in the Radiation Theory Section on research in measurements and theoretical analysis of gamma-ray backscattering, sodium iodide detector response, and theoretical analysis of radiation fields from distributed sources.
From 1963 to 1981, he directed the NBS X-Ray and Ionizing Radiation Data Center, and continues the work as a staff member of the NBS Photon and Charged Particle Data Center.
This work entails collecting and critically evaluating experimental and theoretical cross-section data, and compiling tables of attenuation and energy-absorption coefficients.
David W. Anderson, PhD, director of radiological physics at the City of Faith Medical and Research Center in Tulsa, OK, noted that Mr. Hubbell initiates and maintains an extensive international correspondence with
(continued on page 452)
450 The Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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HUBBELL . . .
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Paul C Aebersold, PhD (Courtesy of William Myers)
scientists. "In this way, absolutely unique in my experience, John serves as a bridge for dissemination of information, scientific progress, and fellowship between scientists of several disciplines on a world-wide scale," said Dr. Anderson.
Mr. Hubbell serves as the secretary of the International Programme Committee of the 3rd International Symposium on Radiation Physics, scheduled for this September in Italy. He also is the secretary for the x-ray attenuation project of the International Union of Crystallography.
During one of his most memorable travels, he met with Nobel Laureate PA. Cherenkov in August 1979 at the Lebedev Photomeson Laboratory in Troitsk, near Moscow. "Cherenkov radiation is used throughout the nuclear physics and high-energy accelerator experimental world," commented Mr. Hubbell.
No one could ever describe Mr. Hubbell as a physicist who "can't see the planets for the particles."
His intense desire to observe astronomical orbiting "bodies led him to drive more than 800 miles a day, through the worst winter storm in 50 years, to reach central Canada in time for the total eclipse of the sun on
February 26, 1979. Reflecting on the eclipse, Mr. Hub
bell said: "One thinks back to the numberless generations of men and pre-men who at various times have stood in the path of this racing moon-shadow and wondered what their universe was trying to tell them."
Nuclear medicine professionals will now show their appreciation for how the curiosity of this scientist compelled him to explain the infinitesimal parts of their universe.
ANNUAL MEETING . . . (continued from page 451)
ABSNM will also hold a reception Monday evening, June 3, for diplo-mates of the Board.
Social calendar
The social season for nuclear medicine starts on the first of June this year with a casual welcome reception at the Hyatt Regency Hotel ballroom. At the same venue on Sunday, June 2, the Ed Gerlach Orchestra
References 1. Greenfield MA, et al: Characterization
of tissue via coherent-to-Compton scattering ratio: sensitivity considerations. Med Phys 10:605-609, 1983
2. Hubbell JH: Photon cross sections, attenuation coefficients, and energy absorption coefficients from 10 keV to 100 GeV. NSRDS-NBS 29:80, 1969
3. Hubbell JH, et al: Radiation field from a rectangular source. NBSJRes 64C:121-138, 1960
4. Kliauga P, Khanna SM: Dose rate to the inner ear during Mossbauer experiments. Phys Med Biol 28:359-366, 1983
will entertain guests for a more formal night of dinner and dancing.
For attendees who prefer more of a Wild West flavor, Mallinckrodt's Diagnostic Products Division is inviting 1,000 guests to Gilley's Nightclub for the Technologist Party, open to all Society members and friends, on June 4. Gilley's provided the setting for the movie "Urban Cowboy," and the country's first mechanical bull-riding ring. Bus transportation, admission, dinner, and beer will be provided. •
Annual meeting attendees will have an opportunity to tour Houston's museums and historic sites, including NASA's Johnson Space Center, focal point for the Untied States manned space flight program which led to the development of the space shuttle (above).
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1985;26:450-452.J Nucl Med. John Hubbell Earns Aebersold Accolade
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