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Burton Jones Moyer (February 24, 1912 – April 21,1973) was an American nuclear physicist known as “The Father of Accelerator Health Physics” ^[1] for his seminal work in shielding design and safety procedures used in the operation of many large particle accelerators. He is notable for the discovery of the neutral pi meson.

During his professional life Dr. Burton J. Moyer, PhD, was a professor of physics at the University of California at Berkeley, California; researcher in high energy, particle, and nuclear physics at the UC Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (officially named Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 1995; and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon at Eugene, Oregon. He also consulted and advised at other research and educational institutions and government agencies including the National Science Foundation and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

During World War II, Dr. Moyer worked in connection with the Manhattan Project, for a time at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and later at the Lawrence Radiation Lab at Berkeley. He was not involved in the war effort directly or with the development of the atomic bomb; his focus was on shielding and protection from the dangers of exposure to radiation for those working in nuclear research.

In 1947, Ernest Lawrence asked Moyer to oversee radiation protection activities at the Radiation Lab at Berkeley. ^[2] Moyer’s contributions were instrumental in ensuring the safety of researchers. Notably, in 1962, he implemented shielding modifications at the bevatron—one of the large particle accelerators at the laboratory—reducing radiation intensities by a factor of 100. His innovative approach incorporating specialized shielding and frequent measurement of radiation levels in the work environment became known as the “Moyer Model” and is frequently applied in the construction and operation of nuclear particle accelerators around the world. Moyer directed the Health Physics activities at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory until 1970. ^[3]

In 1985 the Northern California Chapter of the Health Physics Society established the Burton J. Moyer Memorial Fellowship to memorialize Moyer and to encourage his ideals in the study of the safe use of radiation for the benefit of all people. ^[4] 

The installation of Moyer’s roof shielding above the Bevatron in progress at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory. The interlocking roof-blocks are keyed together with one another and to the supporting cylindrical shield wall so as to ensure seismic stability. Bending magnets of the synchrotron are clearly visible (1963). Photo credit: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

(Taken from the abstract by Ralph H. Thomas: The Three Bs: Before, Berkeley, and Beyond)

Moyer’s main love was teaching. Respected by colleagues and students, he was instrumental in the development and delivery of physics education at UC Berkeley. He was also deeply involved in research at the radiation laboratory and directed the theses research of over 60 students generating a steady stream of important papers.  His teaching and mentoring were notable for their clarity, precision, thoroughness, and expert analysis.

Important Dates

February 24, 1912, Birth, Greenville, Illinois.

1933      Obtained B.A. from Seattle Pacific College.

1937      Married Lela Inez Brushwood.

1939      Obtained PhD in Physics, University of Washington, Seattle (Wash.).

1939 – 1942 Professor of Physics, Greenville College, Greenville, Illinois.

1942 – 1945

Researcher, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, California.

Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In the development of shielding from radiation toxicity.

1942 – 1970

Physicist, Radiation Laboratory (1942-1970).

Lecturer in Physics (1947-1949).

Associate Professor of Physics (1949-1954).

Professor of Physics (1954-1970).

Chair, Department of Physics (1962-1968), University of California.

1958 – 1961 Member, Committee on Nuclear Science, National Research Council.

1968 – 1971 Member, Physics Advisory Panel, National Science Foundation.

1970 – 1973 Dean, College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Physics, University of

             Oregon

Early life

Burton Jones Moyer was born in Greenville, Illinois, on February 24, 1912. His parents were Jacob and Ella Mabel Moyer (nee Jones), who were faculty members at Greenville College (now Greenville University) in Greenville, Illinois. Sometime before 1920 his family moved to Fargo, North Dakota ,where his father taught chemistry at the North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University).  Around 1925 the family moved to Seattle, Washington, where Jacob taught chemistry at Seattle Pacific College (Seattle Pacific University since 1977) and served as the Dean of Men. Burton finished his High School education at the normal school associated with SPC and earned his BA degree from the college in 1933. The following year he began graduate studies at the University of Washington culminating with his Ph.D. in Physics in 1939.

Professor of Physics

After obtaining his graduate degree Moyer joined the faculty at Greenville College and taught in the departments of mathematics and physics. In 1942 he and his family moved to Berkeley, California, where he worked under Ernest Lawrence at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory on the separation of uranium isotopes, among other things.  He quickly became a group leader at the Berkeley Rad Lab.

In addition to his work at Berkeley, Moyer spent time in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in the operation of the electromagnetic separation plant as part of the Manhattan Project.  At the close of the war he returned to the Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, doing research in nuclear and high energy physics.[1]  Simultaneously he began teaching in the physics department as lecturer, was appointed associate professor in 1950 and professor in 1954. By this time, a series of papers had established Moyer as one of the world's leading high energy physicists. Perhaps the best-known paper appeared in 1950 under the modest title, “High Energy Photons from Proton Nucleon Collisions,” announcing the discovery of the neutral pi meson for which he is credited.[2] This was a milestone in the science of particle physics. ^[5]

In 1962, at the urging of his colleagues, Moyer accepted the chairmanship of the physics department at Berkeley. He was trusted and admired as chairman by his colleagues and university staff and served in that position until 1968 except for the time of his sabbatical in 1965-66. In addition to his departmental duties, he was able to meet with understanding and success the troubling problems of student unrest at Berkeley which began in 1964.

In 1965 Moyer opted for a one-year sabbatical. Working through the United States Aid to International Development (USAID),  he took a position at the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur, India. He spent the year teaching physics, aiding the research program, and helping to create a viable technical school. He left a lasting impression there.

As a recognized expert in the field of nuclear physics, Moyer attended numerous scientific conferences and was a rapporteur on several occasions.

Christian Faith

Moyer was a devout Christian. He found no conflict between the tenets of his faith and a rigorous, scientific exploration of the universe. His maternal grandfather, Burton Rensselaer Jones, was a participant in the Holiness Movement and was a Free Methodist missionary and bishop. Both Greenville College and Seattle Pacific were Free Methodist institutions. Sometime after his work at Greenville, Moyer chose to join the Presbyterian church where he served as an elder for over 20 years.  Early in their marriage, Burton and Lela had wanted to spend time in missionary work in China, however, world events at the time prevented this.

Later life and death

In 1968 Moyer retired from the Physics Department chairmanship at Berkeley and returned to his research group and to teaching as well as to work with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). He, along with A. Carl Helmholz, undertook the revision of the text Mechanics: Vol 1 of the Berkeley Physics Course.  He felt then that research in high energy physics should pass to younger physicists. In view of this, in 1970, he left the university at Berkeley and accepted the position of Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at

the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.

At the time Moyer moved to Oregon, the university in Eugene was suffering a severe budgetary crisis. Being a man with a high degree of fortitude, spirit, and good humor he quickly gained the respect of the university faculty and was known for his sound academic judgement, fair-mindedness, and firmness.[3] 

Burton Jones Moyer died from a heart attack on April 21, 1973. ^[6] His wife, Lela, died three years later. They are interred together in Eugene, Oregon. They had four children: Burton, John, Robert, and Lela Virginia.

Select Bibliography

Texts

[ Berkeley Physics Course, Vol. 1]     Charles Kittel, Walter D. Knight, Malvin A. Ruderman, A. Carl Helmholz, Burton J. Moyer Berkeley Physics Course 1. Mechanics    (1973, Mc Graw Hill Book Company)

 References