Obituary of Frederick Walter Young, Jr.

Frederick W. Young, Jr., 82, former Director of the Solid State Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a scientist internationally known for investigations of the effects of nuclear radiation on materials died at his home in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Thursday, August 2. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1944 from Hampden-Sydney College and a PhD in Physical Chemistry in 1950 from the University of Virginia, where he was also a research assistant professor. He joined the Solid State Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1956 where he held both research and administrative positions, including Section Head, Associate Director from 1968 to 1988, and Director from 1988 until his retirement in December 1990.

Dr. Young’s research included groundbreaking investigations in several areas involving the effects of nuclear radiation on metals. This work required large metal crystals that were free of other types of defects, and he perfected techniques for growing copper single crystals that were defect-free. He used these crystals in several types of experiments, and he also loaned them to scientists at other laboratories throughout the world who were interested in conducting similar types of research. He pioneered experiments to determine the effects of irradiation-induced defects on chemical processes such as surface oxidation and chemical etching, and he used a variety of new techniques to analyze and characterize the introduction, arrangement, and annealing of radiation-induced defects.

In his various capacities in the Solid State Division, Fred maintained a close connection with individual scientists and division research programs, particularly in the area of radiation effects. With the widening scope of the energy mission for DOE Laboratories in the mid-1970 s, he was closely involved in the development within the Solid State Division of new areas of energy research. Of particular importance among these new research areas were experiments associated with the annealing of ion-implantation defects in semiconductors by pulses from a powerful laser and synchrotron x-ray experiments that helped to resolve the lively controversy that existed regarding possible mechanisms of pulsed-laser annealing.

Dr. Young was a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was the author or co-author of 263 scientific papers. He was active in the establishment of the Division of Materials Physics of the American Physical Society, serving as Chair in 1986-1987 and Secretary in 1990-1993.