Harold T. Peterson Jr. ’63

Hal, a health physicist who was a national leader in setting standards for protecting the public against radiation damage, died Jan. 16, 2016.

Retired from federal service, he was a radiation-protection consultant living in Silver Spring, Md.

Hal entered Princeton from Elmont High School on Long Island (where he was a winner in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search). He was president of the chemistry club and news editor of the Princeton Engineer, and ate at Terrace. In 1965, he received a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from NYU.

He had 36 years of experience with the Public Health Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Department of Energy. He chaired the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's 1991 revision of standards and co-chaired an interagency committee on standards. His work involved biological impacts of radiation and risk estimations of high and low doses, along with the attendant controversies and difficulties in communication.

Since 2004, he had been a consultant for the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. He wrote or co-authored more than 100 publications, was a lifetime honorary member of the American Nuclear Society, and was a fellow of the Health Physics Society.

The class shares its sadness with his wife, Carol; children Kathleen Lyons and Michael; and five grandchildren.