Highlights of the First Fifty Years of the Health Physics Society
A.J. Boerner (Oak Ridge Associated Universities)
The Health Physics Society (HPS) is celebrating its 50th anniversary, an important milestone marked by a host of valuable contributions from many individuals and notable events. This presentation captures several of the important events in the formation and evolution of the HPHS--from its birth in 1955, the "early years" and subsequent growth, tackling public radiation issues, public communication and education advances, to the present day. The HPS has evolved from a small group of operationally oriented radiation protection scientists into an organization of several thousand with a recognized and respected peer review journal. The HPS is a first rate professional society that has and will continue to endure because of its significant contributions to the field of radiation safety. The author wishes to acknowledge the invaluable support of Ronald Kathren who collaborated with him to publish a journal article on the history of the HPS (March 2005, Volume 88, No. 3) from which this presentation was inspired.