In memorium: Peter H. Haas, 1921-1986

• Published in: IEEE transactions on nuclear science 1986-12, Vol.33 (6), p.1174-1174
• Main Author: Conrad, Edward E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Haas; Obituaries; Peter H
• ISSN: 0018-9499; 1558-1578
• DOI: 10.1109/TNS.1986.4334572

The entire nuclear weapons effects community suffered a major and tragic loss on June 19, 1986 when Peter H. Haas was killed in an automobile accident. Pete was a principal pioneer in the field of nuclear weapons effects beginning in the mid 1950s. As a member of the scientific staff of the Harry Diamond Laboratories (then known as the Diamond Ordnance Fuze Laboratory), he proposed and conducted some of the landmark experiments on nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and transient radiation effects on electronics (TREE). These experiments were conducted at the Nevada and Pacific Nuclear Test Sites under the sponsorship of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, the forerunner of the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA). It was under his direction that some of the early neutron displacement effects research was done in pulsed nuclear reactors. He had the imagination and foresight to suggest that electronic circuitry might undergo severe changes in behavior when exposed to a nuclear radiation pulse, and this was the genesis of the discipline known as TREE. A brief biography of Peter H. Haas, 1921-1986 is given highlighting his professional achievements.