On this day in 2004, National Medal of Science winner Philip Abelson passed away.
Abelson is remembered for many things, including co-discovering the chemical element Neptunium. He also contributed his work on liquid thermal diffusion to the Manhattan project, made radioactive isotopes usable in medicine and other industries, found fatty acids in billion-year-old rocks, and, from 1962-1984, was the editor of Science, the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
In 1976, Abelson wrote an opinion piece in Science called "Enough with Pessimism." Interestingly, among all of his discoveries, he became well-known for writing this article. "Enough with Pessimism" is a commentary on the relationship between politics and the pursuit of scientific discoveries in the mid-20th century. Abelson went on to write a book of essays under the same title. You can read Abelson's "Enough with Pessimism" online through Science Magazine below, along with another article he wrote, "Bigotry in Science."
Left: Philip Abelson. Right: Ross Gunn (left, physicist), Capt. William Parsons (middle, weaponeer), Philip Abelson (end) working on the Manhattan Project.
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