Ari Brynjolfsson (1926 – 2013;[1] Icelandic spelling Brynjólfsson) was an Icelandic-American physicist known for his work in America on food irradiation and for the development of radiation facilities.

Ari Brynjolfsson
BornDecember 7, 1926
Akureyri, Iceland
DiedJune 28, 2013(2013-06-28) (aged 85)
Tampa, Florida, USA
NationalityIcelandic and American
Occupationphysicist

Background

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Ari Brynjolfsson was born in Akureyri, Iceland, one of the seven children of Brynjólfur Sigtryggsson and Guðrún Rósinkarsdóttir[2] from Hörgárdalur.[3] He lived in Krossanes, Eyjafjörður[4] and graduated from Menntaskólinn á Akureyri in 1948,[5] then studied nuclear physics at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, from 1948 to 1954, gaining his PhD,[6] with a thesis which dealt with a device he had constructed for accurately measuring magnetism in rocks.[4] Following this he became a special research fellow of the University of Iceland from 1954 to 1955, then an Alexander von Humboldt fellow of the University of Göttingen, Germany, from 1955 to 1957.[6] While at Göttingen he contributed important work in magnetic moments, using a self-devised instrument with which he and others provided the strongest evidence to that date for magnetic field reversals.[7]

He became Head of Radiation Facilities for the Danish government at Risø (1957–1965) and then Head of US Army Radiation Facilities, Natick, Massachusetts[3][8] (1965–1980). He also served as the Director of IFFIT (International Facility for Food Irradiation Technology) of the Joint FAO/IAEA, United Nations (1988–1992).[9] He gained his DSc in 1973 with a thesis entitled Some Aspects of the Interactions of Fast Charged Particles with Matter which led to his work on plasma redshift.[10]

Later in his life, he published several articles on his results for the reverse plasma redshift of photons in a gravitational field, which led him to investigate and develop his own theory within Plasma cosmology.[11] In 2004 he also co-signed a letter published on New Scientist addressing the lack of funds and attention for theories alternative to Big Bang cosmology.[12]

Many of his publications and much of his work centered around food irradiation and the development of radiation facilities around the world.[2][3] He received several awards including the Møller Foundation Award for exceptional service to Danish Industry, 1965 "Radiation Science and Technology Award of the American Nuclear Society", 1988[13][14] and was noted award recipient from U.S. Brigadier General Merrill L. Tribe in 1963.[15][16]

He died at the age of 86 in Tampa, FL on 28 June 2013, leaving a widow, five children and nineteen grandchildren.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Ari Brynjólfsson – Obituary". Morgunblaðið. 2013-08-24.
  2. ^ a b Sverrir Páll Erlendsson (23 September 2013). "MA færð minningargjöf um Ara Brynjólfsson". Menntaskólinn á Akureyri. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Íslenzkur Kjarnorkufræðingur Við Þýðingarmikið Starf Í Bandaríkjunum". Tíminn. No. 266. 15 November 1973. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Eyfirðingur yinnur námsafrek erlendis". Dagur. 20 October 1954. p. 7. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Vinnur námsafrek erlendis". Morgunblaðið. 13 October 1954. p. 16. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "Ari Brynjolfsson Obituary". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  7. ^ William Glen (1982). The Road to Jaramillo: Critical Years of the Revolution in Earth Science. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 116. ISBN 9780804711197. Ari Brynjolfsson.
  8. ^ "Ari til USA". Tíminn. 27 July 1965. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  9. ^ "Ari Brynjolfsson Curriculum Vitae". plasmaredshift.org. 5 December 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  10. ^ Ari Brynjolfsson (1973). Some Aspects of the Interactions of Fast Charged Particles with Matter. Niels Bohr Institute.
  11. ^ Brynjolfsson, Ari. "Search | arXiv e-print repository". arxiv. Cornell University.
  12. ^ Lerner, Eric. "Bucking the big bang". New Scientist.
  13. ^ "ANS / Honors and Awards / Recipients / Radiation Science and Technology Award". American Nuclear Society. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  14. ^ "Ari Brynjólfsson heiðraður af bandarískum kjarnorkuvísindamönnum: Talinn fremstur í geislarannsóknum". Tíminn. No. 271. 25 November 1988. p. 6. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  15. ^ "U.S. Army Natick Laboratories". historicimages.net. 5 September 1963. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  16. ^ "Íslenzkur Vísindamaður Vinnur Mikið Stórvirki". Tíminn. No. 193. 11 September 1963. p. 1. Retrieved 2 December 2013.