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William F. Morgan
12/23/1952 — 11/13/2015
From Richland, WA | Born in Christchurch, New Zealand
William F. Morgan
William F. Morgan
1952 – 2015
Dr. William Morgan, an eminent scientist and the Director of Radiation Biology and Biophysics in the Biological Sciences Division of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, died Friday evening, November 13th 2015 at the Kadlec Medical Center near his home in Richland, Washington of a pulmonary embolism. He was 62.
Dr. Morgan, or Bill to many of his friends, was a leading figure in the study of the biological effects of ionizing radiation and had a distinguished career that spanned over 35 years. Born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand, Bill received his bachelor degree in botany and his master and doctoral degree in cytogenetics from the University of Canterbury. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Bill joined the faculty there and later obtained a joint appointment at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in 1995. In 1999, he left California to become Director of the Radiation Oncology Research Laboratory at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore. In 2008, Bill moved to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and took on his leadership role until his untimely death. He held joint appointments in the Department of Radiation Oncology at both Oregon Health Science University and the University of Washington.
Dr.
Morgan's research focused on elucidating the long-term biological effects of ionizing
radiation and, more specifically, on the study of low dose effects on human
health. He was highly regarded by his
peers and had received many awards and recognitions. He served on many national and international
advisory boards. Dr. Morgan was conferred
with an honorary D.Sc. degree from his Alma mater in 2003 and was elected
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2010.
Bill
is survived by his wife Marianne Sowa, his ex-wife Rosemary Wong, his children
Michelle and Nicholas Morgan and Leyla Resat, his parents Ngaire and William
Morgan, his siblings Helen Thawley and David and Paul Morgan, and his beloved
nieces and nephews. He was predeceased
by his brother Edward John Morgan.
A mass in honor of Dr. Morgan was given at St. Francis of Assisi in Stoke, Nelson, New Zealand. There will be no services in Richland. A formal service will be held in New Zealand at a later date and a recognition of Bill will be held at the 2016 Radiation Research Society meeting.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Bill’s name at http://radres.site-ym.com/donations/
William was a great man!
Should be on https://wikipedia.com/william haha
Bill and me met in 1989 and had been in contact ever since. Discussing adaptive responses, chromosomal aberrations and much more. Unbelievable that he is gone. He was a great, friendly person. Sincere condolences to his family.
A characteristic trait of Bill was his ability to be a real friend, regardless of the circumstances. I would like to express my deepest condolences to his family.
Oh Bill, we will miss you so much…
Gone but not forgotten, I raise a glass to you my friend.
I just learned of Bill’s untimely death and wanted to extend my sympathies to his family and friends. I first met Bill when I was a postdoctoral fellow at UCSF, but only got to know him well when I came to the National Cancer Institute in 1998 as a Scientific Review Officer (SRO). I was the SRO of the NCI subcommittee for which Bill served as Chairman from 1998 – 2003. I also worked with him on numerous reviews and site visits over the years, and will always remember him for his gentlemanly nature, wonderful sense of humor, and most of all his broad intellect. It was an honor to know Bill and I will miss him greatly.
I have only just heard of Bill’s passing. He and I were friends in Christchurch and I actually proof read his PhD thesis. Quick to add for spelling and grammatical errors only!! I visited him in California a couple of times, we also met up here in Auckland and exchanged Christmas cards for years, but then sadly, we lost touch.
To Michelle and Nick and his other family I send my deepest sympathy. He was a good man and I have great memories.
Jill
I had many stimulating discussions with Bill on “low-dose” radiation risks and participated in a number of panels with him on this subject. I always looked forward to seeing him at meetings, talking science and enjoying his views and humor on other topics. A sharp mind, a passion for good science, and a kind and decent man — we will miss him!
I am Mrs Luella Bandstra i live in USA i applied for a scam company pretend to be a loan company so they rip me of the sum of 2000usd so a friend of in IOWA told me that there is a loan company that gave her loan after i have been was scam by the same people that rip of the 2000usd so he gave me the company email so i contact them they are really they not scam contact them now so that you can also testify to others also God will Bless him and his family here is the email steve.mccclaren309@gmail.com
Dear Bill, I will always remember your smiling and kind talking like in Miami month ago and in UCSF >25 years ago! We met and joyed in rrs and other meetings, but we are going to miss you a lot in next rrs. Today, I am reviewing the paper you asked to review that is due next Monday. For sure, I will not delay this time and will email it back to you in time! Life is tough and short but I am very glad to had chance to meet many cheerful guys like you! Please take care! Your always friend, Jian Jian
Dear Marianne and Family,
My sincerest condolences on the untimely death of Bill, a scholar and gentleman in the finest sense. I was fortunate to have worked with him at NSRL and the NASA Summer School. His passing is a great loss to the effort to understand the radiation risks to humans in space and the development of mitigations to the radiation exposure. We will sorely miss him.
Sincerely,
Derek Lowenstein
I first met Bill twenty years ago. Since then he has been my mentor and my best friend. In recent years, I have continued to benefit from his able guidance in ICRP Committee 1. He was always friendly, full of humor, and spoke encouraging words. Without his support, I wouldn’t be what I am now. I really miss him. May God rest his soul in peace.
Bill had had a presence at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, both in person and through the multitude of people who were connected to him in one way or another.
The saying “calm water seeps deep”, seems to best describe his influence in our field of work and, indeed, his touch was felt throughout. He will be sorely missed by all of us.
Our deepest condolences.
RIP Bill
So sorry to hear the sad news or Bill’s passing. He will be missed by many friends. He was a great mentor for our son John.
I know Mr. Morgan in ICRP family. He is a great scientist and good friend. He will be always in my heart.
Liu Hua
I know Bill is looking down at all of us today. He is in a wonderful place of peace & happiness. Happy Birthday Morgan! We miss you dearly.
I feel the loss of Bill so deeply….he was one of my best friends in the radiation community, a real confidant, and a kind soul. He helped me so often in my projects and in my career. Too great a loss to express more!!
Bill will be missed by our entire community. Sincere condolences to all of his family.
Bill and me met in 1989 and had been in contact ever since. Discussing adaptive responses, chromosomal aberrations and much more. Unbelievable that he is gone. He was a great, friendly person. Sincere condolences to his family.
A characteristic trait of Bill was his ability to be a real friend, regardless of the circumstances. I would like to express my deepest condolences to his family.
Oh Bill, we will miss you so much…
Gone but not forgotten, I raise a glass to you my friend.
I just learned of Bill’s untimely death and wanted to extend my sympathies to his family and friends. I first met Bill when I was a postdoctoral fellow at UCSF, but only got to know him well when I came to the National Cancer Institute in 1998 as a Scientific Review Officer (SRO). I was the SRO of the NCI subcommittee for which Bill served as Chairman from 1998 – 2003. I also worked with him on numerous reviews and site visits over the years, and will always remember him for his gentlemanly nature, wonderful sense of humor, and most of all his broad intellect. It was an honor to know Bill and I will miss him greatly.
I have only just heard of Bill’s passing. He and I were friends in Christchurch and I actually proof read his PhD thesis. Quick to add for spelling and grammatical errors only!! I visited him in California a couple of times, we also met up here in Auckland and exchanged Christmas cards for years, but then sadly, we lost touch.
To Michelle and Nick and his other family I send my deepest sympathy. He was a good man and I have great memories.
Jill
I had many stimulating discussions with Bill on “low-dose” radiation risks and participated in a number of panels with him on this subject. I always looked forward to seeing him at meetings, talking science and enjoying his views and humor on other topics. A sharp mind, a passion for good science, and a kind and decent man — we will miss him!
I am Mrs Luella Bandstra i live in USA i applied for a scam company pretend to be a loan company so they rip me of the sum of 2000usd so a friend of in IOWA told me that there is a loan company that gave her loan after i have been was scam by the same people that rip of the 2000usd so he gave me the company email so i contact them they are really they not scam contact them now so that you can also testify to others also God will Bless him and his family here is the email steve.mccclaren309@gmail.com
Dear Bill, I will always remember your smiling and kind talking like in Miami month ago and in UCSF >25 years ago! We met and joyed in rrs and other meetings, but we are going to miss you a lot in next rrs. Today, I am reviewing the paper you asked to review that is due next Monday. For sure, I will not delay this time and will email it back to you in time! Life is tough and short but I am very glad to had chance to meet many cheerful guys like you! Please take care! Your always friend, Jian Jian
Dear Marianne and Family,
My sincerest condolences on the untimely death of Bill, a scholar and gentleman in the finest sense. I was fortunate to have worked with him at NSRL and the NASA Summer School. His passing is a great loss to the effort to understand the radiation risks to humans in space and the development of mitigations to the radiation exposure. We will sorely miss him.
Sincerely,
Derek Lowenstein
I first met Bill twenty years ago. Since then he has been my mentor and my best friend. In recent years, I have continued to benefit from his able guidance in ICRP Committee 1. He was always friendly, full of humor, and spoke encouraging words. Without his support, I wouldn’t be what I am now. I really miss him. May God rest his soul in peace.
Bill had had a presence at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, both in person and through the multitude of people who were connected to him in one way or another.
The saying “calm water seeps deep”, seems to best describe his influence in our field of work and, indeed, his touch was felt throughout. He will be sorely missed by all of us.
Our deepest condolences.
RIP Bill
So sorry to hear the sad news or Bill’s passing. He will be missed by many friends. He was a great mentor for our son John.
I know Mr. Morgan in ICRP family. He is a great scientist and good friend. He will be always in my heart.
Liu Hua
I know Bill is looking down at all of us today. He is in a wonderful place of peace & happiness. Happy Birthday Morgan! We miss you dearly.
I feel the loss of Bill so deeply….he was one of my best friends in the radiation community, a real confidant, and a kind soul. He helped me so often in my projects and in my career. Too great a loss to express more!!
Bill will be missed by our entire community. Sincere condolences to all of his family.
Guestbook for
William F. Morgan