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ARL Researcher Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
By Tonya Johnson
U.S. Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs Office
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Dr. Donald Eccleshall |
ADELPHI, Md.--Dr. Donald Eccleshall credits his high school teacher, Mr. Singh, for pushing him towards a career in physics.
ŸHe fired me up about physics,÷ said Eccleshall. ŸThis was a time of a new era in physics during the end of the second World War. It was a time of change and progress in the field.÷
Eccleshall is semi-retired and is currently working part-time for SRS Technologies in Bel Air, Md. He is also a guest researcher with the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate at the U. S. Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, Md. Eccleshall worked for the Army from 1968 until his retirement in 1997, and he received an ARL Award for Lifetime Achievement in November for his work in the technical community and Army applications.
ŸIËm honored to receive this award. IËve been very lucky to have had some nice challenges,÷ said Eccleshall. ŸIËve done some interesting research. Over the years IËve noticed that the work we do has changed. We used to do more basic research. Now weËre much more focused on applications and producing technology quicker for soldiers in the field.÷
Eccleshall is from Warrington, England, which is between Manchester and Liverpool. After a couple of years with the British Army, he graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science in physics and obtained a doctorate in physics in 1956. After receiving his doctorate, he worked for the Atomic Energy Authority for 10 years as a nuclear physicist in Aldermaston, England.
In 1966, he came to the U.S. on a sabbatical to the University of Pennsylvania. Two years later, he was offered a job in Edgewood, Md., to run an accelerator facility at the Ballistic Research Laboratory, which later became a part of ARL, and he has been there since. The facility was a large Tandem Van de Graaf accelerator.ß It accelerated charged nuclear projectiles, such as protons,ßthat wereßused toßobtainßdata on nuclear reactions of interestßin the ArmyßNuclear Weapons Effects programs.ß Basic research was also conducted in conjunction with graduate students from universities within Maryland and across the country.
Some highlights of EccleshallËs career include identifying applications and developing accelerator concepts for charged particle beam technology. DARPA and Sandia National Laboratories developed technology demonstrator accelerators based on his work. He also worked as part of a team with the South Korean Army before the 1988 Olympics that ran a program using electromagnetic, seismic and other techniques that were used to detect underground tunnels that could aid terrorists. His current research focuses on ways to make electromagnetic systems, such as electric guns, lighter and more efficient.
ŸTangible technical and scientific results matter,÷ said Eccleshall. ŸYou can develop a technique that can be fundamental to carry out a military operation. People doing technological research can make important contributions to the military.÷
EccleshallËs role models include physicists Albert Einstein and John Bardeen.
ŸEinstein revolutionized our concepts of time and space,÷ said Eccleshall. ŸBardeen won two Nobel Prizes.÷
Eccleshall has received two Army Research and Development Awards and is a member of the American Physical Society. In his spare time, he likes playing golf.
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