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Honoring Dr. Leonard Dietz
Leonard A. Dietz, age 82, of Niskayuna, died October 24, 2005. Dr. Dietz was
born in Manistee, Mich. and grew up there. In February 1943, he joined the U.S.
Army Air Corps and after graduating from flying training, served as a pilot in
the 506th Fighter Group, 462nd Fighter Squadron and was based on Iwo Jima. He
flew the P51D Mustang fighter on very long range missions during the closing
months of World War II. He was awarded three Air Medals and a Distinguished Unit
Citation, and was discharged from the Air Corps in August 1946 as a 1st Lt.
After the war, he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1949 with a BS in
physics, and received an MS in physics in 1950. He then joined GE and worked in
the general engineering laboratory in Schenectady until 1955, when he
transferred to Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory where he worked for 28 years. He
was an experimental research physicist in mass spectrometry and was responsible
for developing advanced mass spectrometer instrumentation and new analytical
techniques for isotope ratio analysis of uranium and plutonium. His extensive
published research in ion detection resulted in ion pulse-counting detectors for
mass spectrometry. He was manager of a technical group that included the mass
spectrometer component. Dr. Dietz was active in a local Boy Scout troop while
his sons were growing up and was a volunteer fireman for 14 years. He was
treasurer of Jones Boarding Home, a local non-profit corporation that took care
of mentally disadvantaged adults, and was active in the First Unitarian Society
of Schenectady and the Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, and was
president of the Albany Memorial Society. After the 1991 Persian Gulf War, he
provided physics support on airborne uranium particles from depleted uranium
munitions to TV, radio and print journalists, to Congress, and to
environmentalists and researchers who were investigating the spread and health
risks of these radioactive particles. A generous and loving husband and father,
Dr. Dietz is survived by his wife of 55 years, Betty; his children, Thomas,
Kristin and Allen; two grandchildren, Max and Iris.
Articles & Publications on Depleted Uranium by Dr. Dietz
Contamination of Persian Gulf War Veterans and Others by Depleted Uranium
Methodology and the Difficulties of Testing for DU
Estimate of Radiation Dose from a Depleted Uranium Oxide Particle
DU's Global Spread Spurs Debate over Effect on Humans
Dr. Dietz was also a coauthor of many of our papers and abstracts.
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