Louis Harold Gray

English physicist (1905–1965)

  • The Latymer School
  • Christ's Hospital
  • Trinity College, Cambridge
Known forBragg–Gray cavity theory
Gray (unit)SpouseFrieda Marjorie PicotParents
  • Harry Gray (father)
  • Amy Bowen (mother)
Awards
  • Roentgen Award
  • Sylvanus Thompson Medal
  • Barclay Medal
  • Katherine Berkan Judd Award
  • Bertner Foundation Award
  • Fellow of the Royal Society[1]
Scientific careerInstitutions
  • Cavendish Laboratory[2]
  • Fellow of Trinity College
  • Medical Research Council's Radiotherapeutic Research Unit at Hammersmith Hospital [3]
Thesis (1930)Doctoral advisorJames Chadwick[1]Author abbrev. (botany)
The standard author abbreviation L.H.Gray is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[4]

Louis Harold Gray FRS (10 November 1905 – 9 July 1965) was an English physicist who worked mainly on the effects of radiation on biological systems. He was one of the earliest contributors of the field of radiobiology.[6] Amongst many other achievements, he defined a unit of radiation dosage (absorbed dose) which was later named after him as an SI unit, the gray.[7][8]

Early life

Gray was born as an only child on 10 November 1905 to parents Harry and Amy Gray. His father worked at a post office.[9]

Career

  • 1933 - Hospital physicist at Mount Vernon Hospital, London
  • 1936 - Developed the Bragg–Gray equation, the basis for the cavity ionization method of measuring gamma-ray energy absorption by materials[10][11]
  • 1937 - Built an early neutron generator at Mount Vernon Hospital[12]
  • 1938 - Studied biological effects of neutrons using the generator
  • 1940 - Developed concept of RBE (Relative Biological Effectiveness) of doses of neutrons
  • 1952 - Initiated research into cells in hypoxic tumors and hyperbaric oxygen
  • 1953 - Oliver Scott established the British Empire Cancer Campaign Research Unit in Radiobiology[13] at Mount Vernon Hospital with Hal Gray as director which in 1970 became the Cancer Research Campaign's Gray Laboratory and then (in 2001) the Gray Cancer Institute.
  • 1953 - 1960 - Under Gray's direction, Jack W. Boag developed pulse radiolysis[14]
  • 1962 - Ed Hart, of Argonne National Laboratory, and Jack Boag[15] discovered the hydrated electron using pulse radiolysis at the Gray Laboratory - This discovery initiated a new direction of research that is still very active today and is vital for understanding the effects of radiation on biological tissue, for instance in cancer treatment.

References

  1. ^ a b Loutit, J. F.; Scott, O. C. A. (1966). "Louis Harold Gray 1905-1965". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 12 (2): 195–217. Bibcode:1966PMB....11..329.. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1966.0009. S2CID 73328020.
  2. ^ Rogers, J. D. (2013). The neutron’s discovery - 80 years on. Physics Procedia, 43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2013.03.001
  3. ^ Alma Howard (1965) Louis Harold Gray, International Journal of Radiation Biology and Related Studies in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine, 9:5, 509-511, DOI: 10.1080/09553006514550571
  4. ^ International Plant Names Index.  L.H.Gray.
  5. ^ "LH Gray Memorial Trust: About L.H. Gray".
  6. ^ Sekiya, Masaru; Yamasaki, Michio (2017). "Louis Harold Gray (November 10, 1905–July 9, 1965): a pioneer in radiobiology". Radiol Phys Technol. 10 (1): 2–7. doi:10.1007/s12194-016-0379-9. PMID 27714568. S2CID 207402619.
  7. ^ Louis Harold Gray F.R.S. - a chronology, CRUK/MRC Oxford Institute, 29 June 2000, archived from the original on 7 April 2014, retrieved 4 April 2014
  8. ^ Slipman, Curtis W.; Chou, Larry H.; Derby, Richard; Simeone, Frederick A.; Mayer, Tom G. (2008), Interventional spine: an algorithmic approach, Elsevier Health Sciences, p. 230–231, ISBN 978-0-7216-2872-1
  9. ^ Sekiya, Masaru; Yamasaki, Michio (1 March 2017). "Louis Harold Gray (November 10, 1905–July 9, 1965): a pioneer in radiobiology". Radiological Physics and Technology. pp. 2–7. doi:10.1007/s12194-016-0379-9. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  10. ^ Gray, Louis Harold (1936). "An ionization method for the absolute measurement of gamma-ray energy". Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A. 156 (889): 578–596. Bibcode:1936RSPSA.156..578G. doi:10.1098/rspa.1936.0169.
  11. ^ Wynchank, S. (2017). Travel. In: Louis Harold Gray . Springer Biographies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43397-4_9
  12. ^ Alma, Howard (1965). "Louis Harold Gray". International Journal of Radiation Biology and Related Studies in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine. 9 (5): 509–511. doi:10.1080/09553006514550571. PMID 5319982.
  13. ^ Wynchank, S. (2017). Louis Harold Gray . Springer Biographies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43397-4_14
  14. ^ Hill, Kit (26 March 2007). "Obituary: Jack Boag". the Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  15. ^ Boag, J. W.; Hart, E. J. (1963). "Absorption spectra in irradiated water and some solutions: Absorption spectra of 'hydrated'electron". Nature. 197 (4862): 45–47. Bibcode:1963Natur.197...45B. doi:10.1038/197045a0. S2CID 4277837.
  • Definition of RBE
  • The LH Gray Memorial Trust founded in 1967
  • Cancer Research UK and Medical Research Council Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology
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