Amasa Stone Bishop facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amasa Stone Bishop
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Dr. Bishop c. 1958.
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| Born | 1921 |
| Died | May 21, 1997 (aged 76) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | California Institute of Technology University of California, Berkeley |
| Awards | AEC Outstanding Service Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
Amasa Stone Bishop (1921 – May 21, 1997) was an American nuclear physicist. He was an expert in fusion physics, which is about combining tiny particles to create huge amounts of energy, like the sun does.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Amasa Bishop was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1921. He loved science from a young age. He went to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and earned his first degree in Physics in 1943.
After Caltech, he worked at the Radiation Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1943 to 1946. There, he helped develop radar, a technology that uses radio waves to detect objects.
Later, he continued his studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He focused on high energy particle work, which means studying very tiny particles moving at super fast speeds. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics in 1950.
Leading Fusion Research
After getting his Ph.D., Amasa Bishop spent three years in Switzerland. He worked as a researcher at the Federal Institute of Technology and the University of Zurich.
In 1953, Amasa joined the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in Washington. The AEC was a government agency that managed nuclear science and technology. He became the director of a special American program called Project Sherwood. This project aimed to develop controlled fusion, which means finding a way to safely create energy by combining atoms, just like stars do. It's a very challenging scientific goal!
For his important work on Project Sherwood, Amasa Bishop received the AEC Outstanding Service Award. In 1958, he published a book about the project called "Project Sherwood: The U.S. Program in Controlled Fusion." This book shared the progress and challenges of trying to harness fusion energy.
International and Environmental Work
After 1956, Amasa Bishop took on more international roles. He became the AEC's scientific representative in Europe, based in Paris, France. He also helped represent the U.S. at Euratom in Brussels, which is a European atomic energy agency. He later spent some time in Princeton, New Jersey, still working on the fusion program.
In 1970, Amasa joined the United Nations in Europe. He became the director of environment for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. In this role, he worked with scientists and diplomats from different countries. Their goal was to find solutions for various environmental problems facing the world.
Amasa Bishop retired in 1980. He passed away on May 21, 1997, in Genolier, Switzerland, at the age of 76.
Family Connection
Amasa Bishop was the great-grandson of a famous industrialist named Amasa Stone.
