Our Speaker for the March 14th meeting is Dr. Francis Narin.
Starting in 1961, Francis Narin was a Staff Member in the Testing Division at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, working on the development of a nuclear-powered rocket engine for interplanetary exploration.
He followed this by witnessing more than fifteen H-bomb tests in the South Pacific and other locations and was charged with collecting and coordinating the preliminary scientific data after 5 of the high-altitude tests, including a critically important test of the Electromatic Pulse (EMP), which can destroy almost all electronic devices within hundreds of miles of an upper atmospheric detonation.
In this talk he will describe the testing procedures at the Marshall Islands, and some of the results, and some of the consequences of an attack with these weapons.
Dr. Narin subsequently left Los Alamos, and the Nuclear Research field after the end of the test series and became one of the founders of the Scientometrics research field, analyzing the productivity and value of Research and Development.
In 1968 he formed CHI Research, Inc., a highly specialized research consultancy to provide "indicator services" to both government and private clients -- ways to measure if their Research & Development dollars were being well-spent, for example.
From 1968 to 2004 CHI’s work defined the leading edge of science and technology evaluation. Under his direction CHI published more than 150 papers, book chapters and reports, was featured in the NY Times and Business Week, and was granted 2 patents,. In 1988, he was awarded the Derek de Solla Price Medal for his outstanding contributions to quantitative studies of science.
Please note the date and attend this meeting to hear about the fascinating work Dr. Narin has done in the field of atomic energy