Amasa Stone Bishop (1921 – May 21, 1997) was an American nuclear physicist specializing in

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. He received his B.S. in physics from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1943. From 1943 to 1946 he was a member of the staff of Radiation Laboratory at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, where he was involved with

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

research and development. Later, he became a staff member of the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

from 1946 to 1950. Specializing in high energy particle work, he earned his Ph.D. in physics in 1950. After attaining his Ph.D., Amasa spent three years in Switzerland, acting as research associate at the

Federal Institute of Technology (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, and later at the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. In 1953 Amasa joined the research division of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in Washington and became the director of the American program to develop controlled fusion, also known as

Project Sherwood Project Sherwood was the codename for a United States program in controlled nuclear fusion during the period it was classified. After 1958, when fusion research was declassified around the world, the project was reorganized as a separate division w ...

. He was later presented the AEC Outstanding Service Award for his work. After leaving this position in 1956, Amasa published a book on behalf of the AEC discussing the various attempts at harnessing fusion under Project Sherwood. The book, "Project Sherwood: The U.S. Program in Controlled Fusion", was published in 1958. After 1956 Amasa also served as the AEC's European scientific representative, based in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He was also an assistant delegate to the European atomic energy agency, Euratom, in Brussels. Later he spent several years in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, and was in charge of the fusion program in Washington. In 1970 Amasa joined the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in Europe as director of environment of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. During this position, he worked with scientists and diplomats to create solutions for various environmental problems. He left this position to retire in 1980. Amasa died on May 21, 1997, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

related to

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

at the Clinique de Genolier in

Genolier Genolier is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Genolier is first mentioned in 1110 as ''Genolliacum''. Geography Genolier has an area, , of . Of this area, or 44.8% is used for agricultural pu ...

, Switzerland. Bishop was the great-grandson of Industrialist

Amasa Stone Amasa Stone, Jr. (April 27, 1818 – May 11, 1883) was an American industrialist who is best remembered for having created a regional railroad empire centered in the U.S. state of Ohio from 1860 to 1883. He gained fame in New England in the 184 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Amasa S. 1921 births 1997 deaths

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland *Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district from ...

American nuclear physicists Deaths from pneumonia in Switzerland Nuclear fusion California Institute of Technology alumni UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni American expatriates in Switzerland People from Cleveland

See also

References