Ralph Eugene Lapp (August 24, 1917 – September 7, 2004) was an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

who participated in the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

. Lapp was an early advocate of

civil defense Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...

. He attempted to demystify

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 ...

. He was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, and attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. After completing his graduate studies at the university he joined the Manhattan Project and became the assistant Director of the Metallurgical Laboratory. He then accepted a position with the War Department General Staff as a scientific advisor on atomic energy. When the research and development board was formed, Doctor Lapp became executive director of its committee on atomic energy. After this he acted as head of the Nuclear Physics branch of the

Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...

. He wrote '' Nuclear Radiation Biology'', '' A Nuclear Reference Manual'', '' Must We Hide?'', and assisted Doctor H.L. Andrews from the

National Institute of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late 1 ...

in writing '' Nuclear Radiation Physics''. He became an activist later in life and wrote a book, '' Victims of the Super Bomb'' (1957). In his book ''The New Priesthood: The Scientific Elite and the Uses of Power'', Lapp describes the increase in funding for science and the growing influence of scientists in American politics after the invention of the atomic bomb. Lapp was interviewed by

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...

in 1957.Mike Wallace Interview
/ref> In 1971, he coined the expression " China Syndrome."

Works

*''Must We Hide?'' (1949) *''The New Force: The Story of Atoms And People'' (1953) *''Atoms And People'' (1956) *''Radiation: What It Is And How It Affects You'' (1957) *''The Voyage of the

Lucky Dragon Lucky may refer to: *An adjective of luck Lucky may also refer to: Film and television * '' Lucky: No Time for Love'', a 2005 Hindi-language romance starring Salman Khan, Sneha Ullal, and Mithun Chakraborty * ''Lucky'', a 2005 short film by Av ...

'' (1958); Harper, New York *''Roads to Discovery'' (1960) *''Man and Space: The Next Decade'' (1961); Harper, New York *''Kill and Overkill'' (1962); Basic Books, New York *''Matter'' (1963); Series: Time-Life Science Library *''The New Priesthood: The Scientific Elite and The Uses of Power'' (1965) *''Arms Beyond Doubt: The Tyranny Of Weapons Technology'' (1970) *''My Life With Radiation: Hiroshima Plus Fifty Years'' (1995)

References

*''Radiological Defense'' compiled by the

Armed Forces Special Weapons Project The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) was a United States military agency responsible for those aspects of nuclear weapons remaining under military control after the Manhattan Project was succeeded by the Atomic Energy Commission on ...

Obituary
from

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

External links

2002 Video Interview with Ralph Lapp by Atomic Heritage Foundation
Voices of the Manhattan Project 20th-century American physicists 1917 births 2004 deaths Manhattan Project people Scientists from Buffalo, New York University of Chicago alumni {{US-physicist-stub