Dr. Herbert Friedman, Chief Scientist
Emeritus of the Space Science Division's E.O. Hulburt Center
for Space Research at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), has
received the 1996 Cosmos Club Award in recognition of more than
50 years of distinguished scientific achievement and public service.
Dr. Friedman was presented the award at a special ceremony held
at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., on April 18.
The Cosmos Club, a private social
club, was founded in 1878 by noted geologist and explorer, John
Wesley Powell. Club members are elected on the basis of their
meritorious original work in science, literature or the arts;
cultivation in science, literature or the arts; or for distinguishment
in a learned profession or public service. Over the years, membership
has included three U.S. presidents, two vice-presidents, a dozen
supreme court justices, 29 Nobel Prize winners and 50 Pulitzer
Prize winners.
Dr. Friedman has conducted or
directed programs in metallurgy, electron optics, nuclear radiation
and space research, and is nationally and internationally known
as a pioneer of x-ray astronomy. His early work in the field
of rocket astronomy used captured German V-2 rockets and proved
the direct relationships between solar x-ray variability and
the strength of the earth's ionosphere. During the International
Geophysical Year (IGY), he led two major experiments involving
rocket launchings from naval vessels. The first showed that solar
flares emit hard x-rays that produce short wave radio blackout;
the second used a total eclipse to isolate x-ray sources in coronal
condensations. Experiments conducted by Dr. Friedman produced
the first x-ray photographs of the sun.
In 1964, Dr. Friedman and his
NRL team made the first positive identification of a galactic
x-ray source, the Crab Nebula. Subsequently, they were first
to detect extragalactic x-ray sources, the quasar 3C-273, and
the giant galaxy M-87. Later, Dr. Friedman played a major role
in promoting the use of very large spacecraft for x-ray astronomy
and was one of the key scientists responsible for the establishment
of NASA's High Energy Astronomy Observatory program of the
1970s.
Dr. Friedman joined NRL in 1940
after obtaining his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and served
as superintendent of NRL's Space Science Division from 1959 until
1980.
He holds 50 patents and has authored or coauthored more than
300 scientific papers, as well as
several books. Throughout his career, Dr. Friedman has chaired
or served on at least 60 committees and advisory groups,
worldwide.
A member of the National Academy
of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences and an honorary fellow of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Dr. Friedman has been
recognized with numerous awards. These awards include: the President's
Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Award; the National Medal
of Science; the Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society;
the Bowie Medal of the American Geophysical Union; the Wolf Prize
in Physics from the Wolf Foundation in Israel; and the 1992 Massey
Award from the Royal Society of London, in association with the
International Council of Scientific Unions' Committee on Space
Research.
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