One of Canada's pioneers in the nuclear field died in hospital
in Ottawa on July 9, 2007 at the age of 82. Bob Brown, personally modest
and unassuming, was very well known internationally for his
contributions to the outstanding research conducted at the Chalk River
Laboratories over the latter half of the 20th century. Born in Richmond,
QC, he received his post-secondary education at Bishop's and
McGill, earning a PhD in polymerization kinetics.
Bob joined the NRC staff at the Chalk River Laboratories very early
in 1951, and was seconded to work with a small group headed by W. E
Grummitt, FCIC, measuring atmospheric fallout from nuclear weapons
testing (American, Russian, and eventually Chinese).
Following the American thermonuclear tests, Bob rapidly became a
world leader in the separation, purification, and measurement of
atmospheric tritium. This isotope of hydrogen proved to be an invaluable
tool in all aspects of hydrology, and Bob was at the forefront of these
developments. His graph of tritium in Ottawa rain, year by year, from
1951 onwards for several decades, has been reprinted in numerous papers
and books. From 1970 to 1973, he was seconded to the International
Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, heading up the hydrology unit there. On
his return to Canada, Bob became a specialist in environmental isotopes
with a particular focus on 3H and 14C in air, water, flora, and fauna.
Bob had a leading role in the 1986 and 1987 field experiments at Chalk
River in which he studied the short-range environmental dispersion and
oxidation of a release of tritiated hydrogen to the atmosphere.
In the latter half of the 1980s, Bob began collaborations aimed at
applying the capabilities of the TASCC facility to the new technique of
accelerator mass spectrometry, starting with the measurement of
[sup.14]C in meteorites, and continuing with the development of
techniques for measuring [sup.36]Cl.
His lifelong enjoyment of skiing, both downhill and cross-country,
continued well into retirement. He served for many years on the Deep
River Library Board, and most recently had been handling the position of
treasurer for the Deep River and District Community Foundation. He will
be much missed.
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