In Memoriam: Randall E. Scott

1948-2016

by Rod Nickell, Fellow

Lieutenant Colonel Randall Scott (U.S. Air Force, retired) passed away peacefully at his Merritt Island home on 17 June 2016. A professional health physicist of more than 40 years, Randy, as his friends knew him, had impressive operational and managerial expertise that included commercial nuclear, military, medical physics, emergency preparedness, and aerospace applications. As chief of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Radiation Protection Program since 1999, he directed the agency's most complex and sophisticated ionizing and nonionizing radiation safety programs including launches of major radiological sources for several deep space and planetary exploration missions.

In 2012 Randy was awarded NASA's Exceptional Service Medal for coordination of multiple federal agencies' radiological contingency preparedness and Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel efforts critical for White House approval to launch Curiosity, the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)-powered rover, to Mars.

During his time as radiation protection officer at KSC, Randy also lent his expertise to the agency's Occupational Health Program auditing NASA radiation protection programs across the country, guiding many consensus standards development and advisory committees, and providing consultation to headquarters on agency-wide radiological concerns.

A consummate gentleman, Randy was kind, courteous, and respectful of everyone. He freely invested in others and shared his knowledge and experiences to improve health physics practices. Randy was a lifelong member of the Health Physics Society and a past president of the Florida Chapter. He was a role model and mentor to many and a friend to many more. Randy's light will be greatly missed, but he will be remembered fondly by everyone who knew him.