1940 — 2025
by Kenneth Skrable, Clayton French, and Genevieve Roessler, with assistance from George’s family.
George Chabot was a quiet giant in the fields of health physics, external and internal radiation dosimetry, nuclear instrumentation, and radiochemistry. His knowledge in these fields was broad and deep, and his willingness to share it was unbounded. His most significant legacy is his service for nearly 50 years to the students at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), first as a full-time professor for 31 years and then as emeritus professor for the past 25 years. While George was a professor at UML, the institution awarded 227 BS, 245 MS, and 23 PhD degrees in health physics. These graduates benefitted from the courses George taught on external dosimetry, internal dosimetry, shielding, nuclear instrumentation, and radiation safety and control. At UML, George directed the research of 85 MS and 17 PhD students. His impressive research contributions, including more than 50 publications and 70 conference papers, can be found on websites such as ResearchGate and the Health Physics Journal. George’s research was innovative, often groundbreaking, and he didn’t hesitate to publish when he knew the response would be controversial. Such is the case in his last publications: “World Atmospheric CO2, Its 14C Specific Activity, Non-Fossil Component, Anthropogenic Fossil Component, and Emissions (1750‒2018)” and its follow-up publication “Components of CO2 in 1750 through 2018 Corrected for the Perturbation of the 14CO2 Bomb Spike.”
George began his academic career at Harvard University, where he obtained an AB degree in chemistry in 1961. He received an MS degree in industrial hygiene and radiological health from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1968 and a PhD in analytical chemistry from the University of Lowell in 1986. During and between degrees, he worked in several analytical laboratories. He joined the Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service (PHS) in May 1963, and from then until June 1967 he was a health service officer and radiochemist for Northeastern Radiological Health Laboratory (NRHL) in Winchester, Massachusetts, and Berkeley, California. From September 1968 to November 1969, he was an instructor in radiological health at NRHL. In preparation for taking the health physics certification exam, he and other members of the New England Chapter of the Health Physics Society (HPS) presented information useful to those planning to take the exam.
George left the PHS Commissioned Corps in November 1969 and was hired by Kenneth Skrable to develop and teach evening programs in radiological health at Lowell Technological Institute (LTI). The program was financially supported by the PHS Bureau of Radiological Health. Shortly thereafter, he took the position of radiation safety officer (RSO) and maintained an adjunct faculty position at LTI. During subsequent years, regular day programs were developed at the institute, which became the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1975. George pursued his PhD degree while continuing to teach, advise students, and work as the university RSO. In August 1986, he left the RSO position and took a full-time position as an assistant professor at the university. In 1992, he moved up to professor of radiological sciences in the Physics Department at the university where he stayed until his retirement in 2000. George credits the practical experience he gained in his work as an RSO, as well as his earlier work for the PHS, for contributing much to his effectiveness as a teacher.
George had a unique style of teaching, particularly in the graduate capstone course Dosimetry and Shielding, our most challenging technical course in health physics. George would create take-home exams with real-world, complex problems that did not contain all of the information needed to solve them. Students would first have to figure out what questions to ask before they could proceed. When the students inevitably asked the wrong question, George would answer it without letting on that this would send them down the wrong path. After considerable floundering, his students would usually come up with better questions and repeat this process until progress was made. Because of this interactive process, those who were successful entered his course as graduate students and left it as self-reliant professionals ready to enter the health physics profession.
The experience of having George as a teacher, research advisor, and mentor has been expressed well by several of his students. One who has spent her career as a prominent dosimetrist said:
“He was the professor who would know the answer to any question you could come up with. He was known for his very, very cluttered office but was admired for it because somehow he knew exactly where everything was, even if that was a document in the middle of a three-foot pile on the corner of a desk. His courses were the most challenging in the curriculum, and you always knew exactly what was expected of you. His dosimetry and shielding classes were the only two in which I didn’t get an A while at Lowell, but I worked harder for those grades than I did for the A‘s and probably got more out of them.”
Another former student praised George at his retirement by saying:
“You have been tireless in your efforts to educate students and instill in them the highest level of technical, professional, and personal skill. I have always tried to live up to your standards of excellence in health physics, in scientific collaboration, and in personal honor and integrity. You are a quiet and accomplished scientist who is always ready to help, teach, coach, and otherwise support any student at any time. A generation of health physicists has been touched by you.”
George’s educational contributions beyond the university classroom are best stated with his own words in the following two paragraphs of his letter of thanks to the American Academy of Health Physics after he had been chosen as a Distinguished Member in 2023:
“Many thanks to the American Academy of Health Physics for its kind and generous decision to select me for honorary membership as a ‘Distinguished Member’ of the organization. I am presently retired from 30+ years of employment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) where I was a professor, teaching and carrying out research in the Physics and Radiological Sciences programs and, most appreciatively, with the privilege and pleasure of both past and present associations with Drs. Ken Skrable and Clay French. I have been active in the HPS as a 54-year member of the national organization, long-term member and past president of the New England Chapter, and 20+ years of participation in the Ask the Experts program of the National HPS, having acted as editor for the Instrumentation and Radiation Basics topic areas for many of those years, a most enjoyable and rewarding experience occasioned by Genevieve Roessler’s initiation of the program and her request that I participate. I have enjoyed a long association with the AAHP and ABHP; I was certified by the Board in 1970, and recertified over many subsequent years, presently being an Emeritus member.
“As an early Chairman of the Education and Certification Committee from the New England Chapter I enjoyed the rewarding experience of organizing several ABHP Certification Examination review courses and presenting numerous topical discussions in the courses. I enjoyed presenting PEP offerings on Preparation for Part 2 of the Certification Examination at several annual meetings of the HPS. I have had the past opportunity to act as an outside reviewer of Part 2 sections of some proposed ABHP Certification exams. I have served as a past Secretary of the AAHP and have been pleased and encouraged to see its continuing success and the ability of it and the ABHP to adopt desirable changes over the years. There is no question that the achievement of certification is a personal and professional advantage for every successful candidate. Over many years of involvement in a wonderfully fulfilling occupation, my greatest enjoyment and satisfaction has come from being able to observe the success of many of our UML students who have gone on to achieve Board certification along with high levels of achievement and responsibility in the profession of Health Physics, including many who have held positions of high responsibility in the Academy and on the Board.”
George was also active in the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). To realize the depth of his knowledge and experience and his adeptness at communicating technical concepts, one need only read NCRP Report No. 112 (2015), “Calibration of Survey Instruments Used in Radiation Protection for the Assessment of Ionizing Radiation Fields and Radioactive Surface Contamination,” for which he was the chair and principal author.
Following his retirement from university work, George contributed significantly to the HPS website and made a huge impact on the Society’s ability to serve both the membership and the public. He used his incredibly solid background in all aspects of health physics to put together the Health Physics Toolbox, a significant undertaking which tabulates important resources for health physicists. George was also a major contributor to the HPS Ask the Experts (ATE) feature. He was the topic editor for two ATE categories: the Radiation Basics category and the Instrumentation and Measurements category. Questions sent to these two categories are most often from members of the health physics profession, and the answers require a thorough knowledge of the entire field. His answers were publication quality and are still amazingly easy to comprehend. His responses were always technically sound and, just as important, the manner in which they were presented represents the high standards of the HPS. His answers have become the basis for many HPS reference papers on radiation concepts. These materials bring credibility to the HPS and a greater understanding of the field to members of the profession and to the public.
The most important aspect of George Chabot’s life was his family. George met his wife Elaine in early 1963 when they both worked as civil servants analyzing environmental samples at NRHL in Winchester, Massachusetts. In May 1963, he was about to be drafted, so he took the option of joining the PHS. Five months later, he received a seven-day notice to report for duty at the NRHL lab in Berkeley, California, so he and Elaine decided to have a small wedding and then they traveled together to California. George and Elaine have four children: Mark, Brian, Michelle, and Kara and four grandchildren: Nicolas, Mae, Amanda, and Mazli. As accomplished as he was at work, it never took priority over his family. In his spare time, George played the trumpet in the Reading and North Reading civic bands for over 50 years. Being a tinkerer at heart, he enjoyed buying vintage trumpets, which he put into playing condition and then resold. George also volunteered in many capacities at St. Theresa’s Church. Most recently, he led an online Bible study, and both he and Elaine participated in the Christ’s Hands group, which collects and distributes food and clothing to local people in need.
Note: Much of the content of this memoriam was written by Genevieve Roessler and published in the Health Physics Journal for George’s 2017 Founders Award.