In Memoriam: Naomi Harley
1932-2023
by the Harley family and NCRP
Health Physics Society (HPS) Fellow Dr. Naomi Ann Hallden Harley, 90, of Hoboken, New Jersey, passed away at her home on 11 June 2023. Naomi was born on 4 August 1932, to Ida Palmer Hallden and Carl Edward Hallden, Sr. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her beloved husband, John H. Harley, and her brother, Carl Edward Hallden, Jr. Naomi is survived by her five nieces: Janet Mease (Rich) of Hillsboro, Oregon; Drs. Carol Miller (Bill) of Binghamton, New York; Ruth Ann Jennings (Terry) of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Lesley Nowakowski (Eric) of Corfu, New York; Joyce Macey of Warrenton, Virginia; and numerous great nieces and nephews, along with her dear friend and colleague, Passaporn Chittaporn, of Hoboken, New Jersey.
Naomi was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey. She received her PhD in radiological physics from New York University (NYU), New York, in 1971; her ME in nuclear engineering from NYU in 1967; her BE in electrical engineering from The Cooper Union, New York City, in 1959; and an APC in management from the NYU Graduate Business School in 1983.
Up until her passing, Naomi was a research professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. Prior to her appointment to the faculty at the NYU School of Medicine, she was head of the Special Projects Group at the US Atomic Energy Commission Health and Safety Laboratory. Her primary research interest was in the measurement and dose evaluation of human exposure to ionizing radiation, in particular to radon and other naturally occurring radioactive materials. Her research resulted in over 170 scientific publications, along with six patents. In her years on the faculty, she mentored many MS and doctoral students who went on to contribute to the health physics community.
Naomi was a member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) from 1982 to 2000 and was elected a Distinguished Emeritus Member in 2000. She chaired several scientific committees: (SC) 57-4, which published Evaluation of Occupational and Environmental Exposures to Radon and Radon Daughters in the United States (NCRP Report No. 78); SC 61, Measurement of Radon and Radon Daughters in Air (NCRP Report No. 97); and SC 85, Risk of Lung Cancer From Radon. She also cowrote Commentary No. 6, Radon Exposure of the U.S. Population–Status of the Problem.
She was a member of SC 73 (Report No. 77, Exposures from the Uranium Series With Emphasis on Radon and Its Daughters) and Advisory Committee 93 on Radiation Measurement and Dosimetry. Naomi delivered the Lauriston S. Taylor Lecture No. 23 "Back to Background: Natural Radiation and Radioactivity Exposed" in 1999. She chaired the Program Committee at the 1988 NCRP Annual Meeting on "Radon" and was member of the Program Committee at the 2001 NCRP Annual Meeting, where she also presented "Laboratory Analyses: Environmental and Biological Measurements."
Naomi was a member of the United States Delegation to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). She served on four National Research Council committees and chaired a Rand Committee that produced a review of Gulf War health effects from depleted uranium. In addition, she was a fellow of the HPS and a member of the Association for Aerosol Research, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
In addition to her research, Naomi had a passion for both domestic animals and wildlife, travel, and her stamp collections.
Naomi was laid to rest with her husband at George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, New Jersey. Online condolences may be expressed on the Beaugard-Mcknight Funeral Home website.