The Story
Born in 1919, Elliott graduated from high school at 15 and from Dalhousie University at 19. By the time he had completed his PhD in 1943, he was already the co-author of ten papers.
Elliott went on to the Montreal nuclear energy laboratory and then to Chalk River, where at age 32 he was chosen as head of the physics division. There, he continued the interest he had developed at MIT on beta ray spectroscopy. He and Bob Bell collaborated to precisely measure the binding energy of the deuteron, which led to a significant revision in measurement of the binding energy of the neutron. They also were the first to measure very short gamma ray lifetimes.
As head of CRNL over the next two decades, Elliott was thorough and exacting, ensuring the facility selected world-class physicists and remained on the forefront of nuclear research. Following his death in 1970, the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) named its University Prize, a nation-wide academic achievement award for senior undergraduates studying physics, in his honour.
Sources: Physics in Canada Mar/April 2000, pg 144.
The Person
- Birthplace
- Clarence, Nova Scotia
- Title
- Head of Physics Division
- Office
- Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario
- Status
- Deceased
- Degrees
-
- BSc, Dalhousie, 1938
- PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1943
- Awards
-
- Fellow, Royal Society of Canada
- Last Updated
- October 24, 2001
- Popularity
- 33396
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