16 Facts About Philip Abelson

Philip Hauge Abelson was an American physicist, scientific editor and science writer.

Philip Abelson later worked on a broad range of scientific topics and related public policy, including organic geochemistry, paleobiology and energy policy.

Philip Abelson was born on April 27,1913, in Tacoma, Washington.

Philip Abelson attended Washington State University, where he received degrees in chemistry and physics, and the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his PhD in nuclear physics.

Philip Abelson was among the first American scientists to verify nuclear fission in an article submitted to the Physical Review in February 1939.

Philip Abelson was a key contributor to the Manhattan Project during World War II, while working with the Naval Research Laboratory.

Philip Abelson's report anticipated the nuclear submarine's role as a missile platform.

Philip Abelson was outspoken and well known for his opinions on science.

Philip Abelson outlined his view that the pressure towards specialization beginning in undergraduate study and intensifying in PhD programs leads students to believe that their area of specialization is the most important, even to the extreme view that other intellectual pursuits are worthless.

Philip Abelson reasoned that such overspecialization led to obsolescence of one's work, often through a focus on trivial aspects of a field, and that avoidance of such bigotry was essential to guiding the direction of one's work.

Philip Abelson estimated that based on his experiments alanine would be stable for billions of years.

Philip Abelson pointed out the possibilities of mining the Athabascan tar sands, as well as oil shale in the Colorado Rockies.

Philip Abelson died on August 1,2004, from respiratory complications following a brief illness.

Philip Abelson was married to Neva Abelson, a distinguished research physician who co-discovered the Rh blood factor test.

Philip Abelson was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society in 1949 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958.

Philip Abelson was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1961.