Fred Begay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fred Begay
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Photo of Dr. Fred Begay distributed on the occasion of his election to the New York Academy of Sciences.
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| Born | July 2, 1932 |
| Died | April 30, 2013 (aged 80) |
| Citizenship | Navajo, Ute |
| Alma mater | University of New Mexico (B.S, M.S., PhD) |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Smith |
| Children | 7 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Nuclear physics |
| Thesis | Development of the OSO-6 High-Energy Neutron Detector and Correlation of Measured Solar Neutron Fluxes to Solar Flares (1971) |
| Doctoral advisor | C.P. Leavitt |
Fred Begay (born July 2, 1932 – died April 30, 2013) was a brilliant scientist. He was a Navajo and Ute nuclear physicist. People also knew him as Fred Young or Clever Fox. Dr. Begay was born in Towaoc, Colorado. This town is on the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation. He studied how to use powerful beams of light and particles. These beams could heat up special gases called plasmas. His goal was to create new energy sources.
Fred Begay's Early Life
Fred Begay was born in Towaoc, Colorado. This was on the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation. His mother was Joy Lopez, who was Navajo and Ute. His father was Hosteen Begay, who was Navajo. Both of his parents were Navajo healers.
When Fred was only six, his parents started teaching him. They taught him the songs of the Blessingway ceremony. Fred spoke Indigenous languages from his parents. He did not learn English until he was 10 years old. This was when he went to a Bureau of Indian Affairs school. The school was in Ignacio, Colorado. Teachers there trained him to be a farmer. He continued this until he was 18.
Fred never graduated from high school. He joined the Army instead. He served in the US Air Force from 1951 to 1955. He was part of an air-rescue team in the Korean War. In 1952, he married Helen Smith from Shiprock. When he came home in 1955, he returned to his mother's farm. He planned to grow corn and raise a family. Fred and Helen Begay had seven children. Their names were Fred Jr, Joyce, William, Janet, Terry, Christina, and Carolyn.
Fred Begay's Science Career
Fred Begay went to the University of New Mexico (UNM). He earned a bachelor's degree in math and science in 1961. He graduated with honors. He then got a master's degree in physics in 1963. Finally, he earned his doctorate in nuclear physics in 1971.
After his studies, he joined the physics team at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He also worked with NASA. He was part of a space physics research team at UNM. This team studied where high-energy gamma rays and solar neutrons come from. He did this research from 1960-1963 and again from 1965-1972.
Dr. Begay also held special research and teaching jobs. He worked at Stanford University and the University of Maryland. He spent almost 30 years working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He was a key part of their laser program.
In 1979, a TV show called NOVA featured Fred Begay. The documentary was named The Long Walk of Fred Young.
