James Beckerley

James Gwavas Beckerley
Born	February 27, 1915 Chicago
Died	April 18, 2006(2006-04-18)(aged 91) Wells, Maine
Citizenship	US
Education	Stanford University
Partner	Lucille Beckerley
Children	2 sons James and John Denson
Scientific career
Fields	nuclear physics
Institutions	Columbia University Judson College United States Atomic Energy Commission Annual Reviews International Atomic Energy Agency

James Gwavas Beckerley II(February 27, 1915 – April 18, 2006) was an American nuclear physicist. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a PhD in physics fromStanford University.He taught atColumbia UniversityandJudson Collegein Burma. He became the director of classification of theUnited States Atomic Energy Commissionin 1949, though resigned in 1954 due to his disagreement about security measures he thought were excessive. He served as editor of several journals, including theAnnual Review of Nuclear ScienceandNuclear Fusion.

Early life and career

James Gwavas Beckerley was born inChicagoon February 27, 1915. His parents were ClaranéeUngewitter and Gwavas Foster Beckerley. He had an older brother, William Beckerley.In 1935, he received his A.B. degree fromStanford University.In 1945, he graduated from Stanford with a PhD in physics.He taught physics atColumbia UniversityandJudson Collegein Burma before it was bombed by Japan in 1942. From 1949–1954, he was the director ofclassificationat theUnited States Atomic Energy Commission.During his time at the AEC, he testified against theRosenbergsat their trial for spying.Part of the reason for his resignation in 1954 was due to his disagreement with ChairmanLewis Strauss.He felt Strauss was too conservative with security measures, and believed that it was time to relax some policies. He said the US acted as if it was in denial about the capabilities of the Soviets, saying in March 1953 "It is time to stop kidding ourselves that we're just better than the USSR. The Russians have the skills and the plants to make fission materials and bombs."

He was the firsteditorof the peer-reviewed journal theAnnual Review of Nuclear Science.He held the position for six years from 1952 to 1958, at which time he was succeeded byEmilio Segrè.He was associated with theInternational Atomic Energy Agencyfrom 1959–1962. During this time, he created and was the first editor of the journalNuclear Fusion.By 1969, he was the president of a company called Radioptrics, Inc. He also worked as a consultant forNASAon itsplanetologysubcommittee.In the 1970s, he worked at the USNuclear Regulatory Commissionwhere he helped developheavy waterfor use innuclear reactors.

He was coauthor and coeditor of the two-volume publication,The Technology of Nuclear Reactor Safety,which was called the "standard reference work" by the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy.

Personal life and death

Beckerley married Lucille; together, they had at least one son, James. Beckerley died inWells, Maineon April 18, 2006.