News Archive

Mike Mahathy, Chapter President

Scott Schwahn, left, receives the Dickson Lecture award from Mike Mahathy
Photo courtesy of Mike Mahathy

The East Tennessee Chapter held the 15th Annual James E. Turner Back to School Lecture Series on 15 February 2025. The symposium honors the legacy of James E. (Jim) Turner (1930–2008), former member of the East Tennessee Chapter. Many of his authored handbooks are still used as references in the radiation safety field.

Three years ago, chapter leadership established the Howard Dickson Memorial Lecture, which is awarded to one of the symposium speakers. This award honors the late Howard Dickson, who was a past president of both our chapter and the Health Physics Society. He was also one of my mentors. The chapter presented the very first Dickson Lecture award to Elizabeth Brackett in 2023. This year, the Third Annual Howard Dickson Memorial Lecture award was presented to Scott Schwahn, who talked about the varied programs at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL). Incidentally, both Howard Dickson and Jim Turner worked at ORNL during their distinguished careers.