George Samuel Hurst (13 October 1927 – 4 July 2010) was a health physicist and professor of physics at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

Early life

Hurst was born on 13 October 1927 in the rural town of Ponza, Bell County, Kentucky located near Pineville, Kentucky. His father was James H. Hurst and mother was Myrtle Wright Hurst. As a boy, he had a keen interest in

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

. Hurst grew up on the family farm and came from a large family with two brothers and two sisters. In 2010, he died of a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...

and was buried at Oak Ridge Memorial Park.

Education

Hurst attended high school at

Bell County High School Bell County High School is one of three public high schools in Bell County, Kentucky, United States, and the only one in the county's school district (the other two, Middlesboro and Pineville, are operated by city-based "independent" districts). ...

in Pineville, Kentucky. At the age of 15, he enrolled in

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every a ...

. In 1947, Hurst received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in physics and a minor in mathematics from Berea College. He attended the

and graduated in 1948 with the

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in physics. During registration at UK, he met Rufus Ritchie. Ritchie became a longtime friend and the two worked on several projects together. After graduation, they both went to ORNL. In 1959, Hurst was awarded a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

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 ...

from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

with a dissertation titled "Attachment of Low-Energy Electrons in Mixtures Containing Oxygen."

Work

In 1948, Hurst was recruited by Karl Z. Morgan and landed a research position at

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research an ...

(ORNL) in the

Health Physics Health physics, also referred to as the science of radiation protection, is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards, while making it possible to enjoy the beneficial uses of radiation. H ...

Division. His starting salary was $325 per month. He made significant contributions in the development of radiation detectors and instrumentation, neutron dosimetry and spectroscopy, and field sample analysis. While working at Oak Ridge, he earned a PhD in physics from the

in 1959. In 1966, Hurst accepted a position at the

as Professor of Physics. Hurst and the team of L.J. Deal and H.H. Rossi performed gamma and neutron radiation measurements at the

Nevada Test Site The Nevada National Security Site (N2S2 or NNSS), known as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the ...

during

Operation Upshot–Knothole Operation Upshot–Knothole was a series of eleven nuclear test shots conducted in 1953 at the Nevada Test Site. It followed ''Operation Ivy'' and preceded ''Operation Castle''. Over 21,000 soldiers took part in the ground exercise Desert Ro ...

for the Atomic Energy Commission. For

Operation PLUMBBOB Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests that were conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following '' Project 57'', and preceding '' Project 58/58A''. Background The operation consisted of 29 explosion ...

, Hurst was again asked to participate along with Ritchie at the Nevada Test Site to collect radiation dosimetry data for human exposures during the tests. In the 1960s, Hurst along with L.B. O'Kelly, E.B. Wagner, J.A. Stockdale, James E. Parks, and F.J. Davis investigated

time-of-flight Time of flight (ToF) is the measurement of the time taken by an object, particle or wave (be it acoustic, electromagnetic, etc.) to travel a distance through a medium. This information can then be used to measure velocity or path length, or as a w ...

electron transport in gases. The group utilized ethylene,

water vapor (99.9839 °C) , - , Boiling point , , - , specific gas constant , 461.5 J/( kg·K) , - , Heat of vaporization , 2.27 MJ/kg , - , Heat capacity , 1.864 kJ/(kg·K) Water vapor, water vapour or aqueous vapor is the gaseous p ...

and

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...

to study and determine time-of-flight electron diffusion coefficients and electron drift velocities for these gases. Hurst led efforts to investigate time-of-flight of electron transport in atomic and molecular gases. In the mid 1960s, Hurst pursued researches that involved electron swarm measurement, swarm‐beam techniques and swarm drift to determine electron capture cross sections in heavy water,

chlorobenzene Chlorobenzene is an aromatic organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5Cl. This colorless, flammable liquid is a common solvent and a widely used intermediate in the manufacture of other chemicals. Uses Historical The major use of chlorob ...

bromobenzene Bromobenzene is an aryl halide, C6H5Br. It is a colourless liquid although older samples can appear yellow. It is a reagent in organic synthesis. Synthesis and reactions Bromobenzene is prepared by the action of bromine on benzene in the presenc ...

, ethylene and ethylene mixtures.

Awards and honors

* IR-100 Award, 3 awards *

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befo ...

, Corporate fellow * American Physical Society, fellow *

, Alumni Association Hall of Distinguished Alumni, member *

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

, honorary degree *

, Physics Department, Distinguished Alumni Award, 2005 *University of Tennessee, Physics Department, G. Samuel and Betty P. Hurst Scholarship Fund; support for physics majors *

, Pineville, Kentucky, notable alumni

Professional affiliations

* Florida State University, visiting professor *

Health Physics Society The Health Physics Society (HPS) is a nonprofit scientific professional organization whose mission is excellence in the science and practice of radiation safety. It is based in the United States and the specific purposes of the society's activit ...

*Scientists and Engineers for Appalachia (SEA), founder *

, Institute of Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy, founder, director 1985–1988

Patents (15 total)

*Resonance ionization for analytical spectroscopy, 1976. *Method and apparatus for noble gas atom detection with isotopic selectivity, 1984. *Method of analyzing for a component in a sample, 1984. *Method and apparatus for sensitive atom counting with high isotopic selectivity, 1987. *Double pulsed time-of-flight mass spectrometer, 1987. *Sensitive, stable, effective at low doses and low energy, 1987. *Ionizing radiation detector system, 1990. *HVAC system. Radon monitor and control system based upon alpha particle detection, 1991. *System for determining health risk due to radon progeny and uses thereof, 1993. *Instrument simulator system, 1994. *Instrument simulator system, 1995. *Touch screen based topological mapping with resistance framing design, 2003.Hurst, G. Samuel, Ritchie, Rufus, Bouldin, Donald W. & Warmack, Robert. (18 November 2003). Touch screen based topological mapping with resistance framing design. U.S. Patent No. 6,650,319. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. *Touch sensor with non-uniform resistive band, 2007.Hurst, G. S., Ritchie, R. H., Warmack, R. J., Bouldin, D. W., & Kent, J. C. (4 September 2007). Touch sensor with non-uniform resistive band. U.S. Patent No. 7,265,686. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. *Touch screen with relatively conductive grid, 2010.Hurst, G. S., Ritchie, R. H., Bouldin, D. W., & Warmack, R. J. (21 September 2010). Touch screen with relatively conductive grid. U.S. Patent No. 7,800,589. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. *Multiple-touch sensor, 2011Hurst, G. S., Warmack, R. J., Richie, R. H., Bouldin, D. W., & Ritchie, D. (31 May 2011). Multiple-touch sensor. U.S. Patent No. 7,952,564. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Private enterprise

Hurst founded or co-founded five businesses: *Elographics, 1971. Developed a version of resistive touchscreen technology. Several patents secured. Electrical Sensor of Plane Coordinates. *Atom Sciences *Pellissippi International, 1988. *Consultec Scientific, 1990.Hurst, G. S. (1990). Assessment of research needs for laser technologies applied to advanced spectroscopic methods (No. DOE/ER/30131-T9). Consultec Scientific, Inc., Knoxville, TN (USA).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurst, George Samuel 1927 births 2010 deaths People from Bell County, Kentucky 20th-century American inventors 21st-century American inventors 20th-century American physicists 21st-century American scientists Berea College alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society Florida State University faculty Health physicists Health Physics Society Mathematicians from Kentucky Nevada Test Site nuclear explosive tests NASA people Oak Ridge National Laboratory people Touchscreens University of Kentucky faculty University of Tennessee alumni University of Kentucky alumni Inventors from Kentucky