Robley D. Evans (physicist)
| Robley D. Evans | |
|---|---|
| Born |
18 May 1907 University Place, Nebraska |
| Died | 31 December 1995 (aged 88) Paradise Valley, Arizona |
| Fields |
Physics Health Physics |
| Institutions |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts General Hospital |
| Alma mater |
California Institute of Technology BS in Physics MS PhD |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert Millikan |
| Known for | Radium girls |
Robley Dunglison Evans (18 May 1907 – 31 December 1995) was an American physicist. He was born on 18 May 1907, in University Place, Nebraska and earned his doctorate at the California Institute of Technology in 1932. In 1934, he joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he retired in 1972.
Evans died at the age of 88 of respiratory failure on December 31, 1995 in Paradise Valley, Arizona where he lived in retirement. Evans was survived by his wife and onetime colleague, the former Mary Margaret Shanahan of Paradise Valley, and three children. For all his efforts and research he is considered one of the founders of Nuclear Medicine.
While Robley Evans was a graduate student at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the Los Angeles County Health Officer, Frank Crandall, was investigating the hazards that radium-containing patent medicines posed to the public health. These products were being manufactured in the Los Angeles area and any possible health effects were Crandall’s concern. Crandall contacted Evans’ supervisor, Robert Millikan, and this proved to be a pivotal moment in the young Evans’ life because he spent most of his career researching the physiological effects of radiological substances.
After graduation Robley Evans worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was able to continue his research into radium poisoning. The scintillation cameras currently found in hospitals are the results from the first whole body counter to measure radium uptake using the radium dial painters. This first generation counter was used to conduct the first measurement of a radionuclide in the human body. He did not just use his expertise for measuring radium in the body. He sought to determine what effects radium had on the human body. These studies included the body’s metabolism, the hazards, and how to minimize any harmful side effects. In 1941 this research enabled Professor Evans to establish one ten-millionth of a gram (0.01 μCi) of radium as the "maximum permissible body burden" - the greatest quantity of a radioactive substance that the human body can tolerate without a likelihood of damage, allowing a large margin for safety.
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