John Carroll Taschner (born 1929/30) was a
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
biophysicist. He was a member of the technical staff in the Environment, Safety and Health Division of
Los Alamos National Laboratory where he was involved in radiological transportation accident exercise planning.
Prior to coming to Los Alamos, Taschner was Deputy Director of the US Navy's Radiological Controls Program Office in Washington, DC, and has held numerous key health physics management positions with the US Navy, where he retired as a GM-15, he served as a part of the team responding to the accident at Three Mile Island while a staff member with the Bureau of Radiological Health, and served as an Air Force Health Physicist, where he retired as a lieutenant colonel. Since the 1970s, Taschner has served on several radiation protection standards committees. Since 1992, Taschner has been the Vice Chairman of the
American National Standards Institute
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...
's N43 Committee, which writes radiation safety standards for non-medical radiation producing equipment.
As of March 2007, Taschner resided in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. On September 1, 2017, Taschner died at the age of 87.
Awards
Taschner has been a member of the Health Physics Society since 1958 and was an
emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
member of the American Academy of Health Physics. Taschner earned his M.S. in radiation biophysics from the
University of Kansas in 1966 and, in 1973, received his certification in Health Physics by the American Board of Health Physics. After a career in the nuclear weapons business spanning 40 years, Taschner served as a member of the federal government's elite DOE/NNSA Accident Response Group. Taschner has been elected a Fellow in the Health Physics Society to honor his scientific contributions to the profession of health physics.
The Military Health Physics Section of the Health Physics Society has named its highest award for excellence for John; the "John C. Taschner Leadership Award".
References
American biophysicists
Living people
University of Kansas alumni
Health physicists
Health Physics Society
Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel
Year of birth uncertain
Year of birth missing (living people)
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