Theme: Radiation Science
Jack Higginbotham Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
November 3, 2015
Jack Higginbotham (b. 1958) has been a member of OSU's Nuclear Engineering faculty
since arriving in Corvallis in 1987, and has led the Oregon Space Grant program since
2002. During his years at Oregon State, Higginbotham has also served as Senior Reactor
Operator and Senior Health Physicist at the OSU Radiation Center; chair of the Radiation
Health Physics program; Associate Dean of the Graduate School; and President of the
Faculty Senate. In a wide-ranging interview, Higginbotham discusses his education
and academic work in nuclear science and engineering; his institutional memories of
Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science at OSU; and the activities of Oregon Space
Grant during his years of association.
Walter Loveland Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen and Linda Richards.
July 22, 2015
Walter Loveland (b. 1939) is a nuclear chemist who has been a member of the OSU faculty
since 1968. A decorated scholar who has made important contributions to the study
of super-heavy elements, Loveland enjoyed a twenty-three year collaboration with Glenn
Seaborg (1912-1999), a Nobel laureate and fellow nuclear chemist who was based at
the University of California, Berkeley. The organizer of a 2012 symposium to celebrate
the centenary of Seaborg's birth, Loveland was honored by the American Chemical Society
with the 2014 Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry, an acknowledgement of
his key contributions to the understanding of super-heavy elements and heavy-element
synthesis. In a wide-ranging interview, Loveland shares his institutional memories
of nuclear chemistry and radiation science at OSU; recalls his work and friendship
with Glenn Seaborg; and provides his perspective on cultural and academic change at
Oregon State.