William L. McLaughlin

1928-2005

William L. McLaughlin received a B.S. in physics from Hampton-Sydney College in 1949. He was hired at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS, now the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST) in 1951 in the Radiological Equipment Section of the Radiation Physics Laboratory in the Atomic and Radiation Physics Division. From 1954-56, McLaughlin took military leave to serve with the Weapons Effects Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and he did on-site radiation dosimetry measurements in the Marshall Islands. He earned his M.S. in physics from George Washington University in 1963. 

Notable honors and awards: 

• Silver Medal, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1969
• Gold Medal, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1979
• Applied Research Award, National Bureau of Standards, 1985
• R&D 100 Award, 1988, 1990 and 2000
• American Nuclear Society Award, 1987
• Ninth International Radiation Processing Award for Radiation Research, 1994
• Gold Medal, Journal of Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 1995
• Scientist emeritus and honorary fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology Physics Laboratory, 1996

Other appointments: 

• Editorial board, Radiation Physics and Chemistry
• Editor-in-chief, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 1988-98

Research interests: radiation physics and chemistry; spectrometry; imaging processes; high dose dosimetry using alanine/EPR and radiochromic films for radiation processing and sterilization