DOI: 10.1148/radiol.2401062563
(Radiology 2006;240:305.)
© RSNA, 2006
Edward W. Webster, PhD
Robert O. Gorson, MS
Edward W. Webster, affectionately known as Ted by friends and colleagues, died on December 17, 2005. He was the perfect English-turned-American gentleman, renowned scholar and scientist, beloved teacher and mentor, and loyal friend and colleague.
Dr Webster was born on April 12, 1922, in London, England, where he was raised and obtained his formal education. His father, a civil servant and largely self-educated, inspired him to achieve scholastic excellence, which culminated in his earning a PhD degree in electrical engineering at the University of London as the World War II Battle of Britain came to an end.
Dr Webster was assigned by the government to carry out research at the English Electric Company, where he worked on the design and construction of two Van de Graaff accelerators. That experience led to his decision to pursue postdoctoral research and course work with Van de Graaff, John Trump, Robley Evans, and others at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Mass), after winning a traveling fellowship from the London Council in 1949.
With his American bride Irene, Dr Webster went back to England for a year to lecture at the University of London. They returned to Boston (Mass) in November 1953, when he became the first full-time medical physicist in the Department of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, Mass). Thus began a brilliant career that continued until his retirement in January 2001.
Dr Webster's many honors include the gold medal of the American College of Radiology (ACR), the Coolidge Award of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), the Failla Award of Radiological and Medical Physics Society of New York City, and the 1992 National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) Taylor lecturer. He initiated the first night courses in radiologic physics for Boston residents and conducted many courses in Boston-area universities. He was author or coauthor of over 130 publications and invited lecturer for over 200 presentations. He held positions of responsibility and leadership in many national and international organizations including the ACR, Radiological Society of North America, AAPM, American Board of Radiology, American Board of Health Physics, NCRP, Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation, or BEIR-III, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, National Institutes of Health, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Commission on Radiological Protection, International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, World Health Organization, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, and International Organization for Medical Physics. He probably is best known for his work in diagnostic radiology physics, basic radiation protection criteria, and radiation risk estimates.
Dr Webster is survived by his second wife of 44 years, Dorothea; six children, John, Peter, Anne, Edward, Mark, and Susan; and six grandchildren.
