7 January 2004

Dr. William B. Grant: Physicist, Atmospheric Researcher and Health Scientist

Some of the most creative and productive professional scientists are those who have not allowed their university training to get in the way of their science. A classic example of such a scientist is William B. Grant, whose article "New Findings by a Physicist/Atmospheric Scientist Regarding Diet and Solar Ultraviolet Radiation for Maintaining Optimal Health" appears in this issue of The Citizen Scientist.

Dr. Grant holds a PhD in physics from the University of California at Berkeley. He has served as a senior research scientist in the fields of optical and laser remote sensing of the atmosphere and atmospheric sciences at SRI International, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and NASA's Langley Research Center.

His early research included pioneering development of laser remote sensing instruments. Later, he participated in many NASA-led airborne atmospheric chemistry field missions around the world. He wrote or coauthored more than 60 articles in the peer-reviewed journals, edited two books of reprints, and contributed half a dozen chapters to other books. He was elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America in 1992.

While working at NASA, Dr. Grant wrote many papers on solar ultraviolet radiation and atmospheric trace gases, including "Global stratospheric ozone and UVB radiation," which was published in Science (242, 1111-2, 1988). His interest in solar UVB merged nicely with his interest in health and led to pioneering studies in the inverse relationship of UVB and the incidence of various illnesses. Dr. Grant retired from NASA in early 2004 and moved to San Francisco, where he founded the non-profit organization, Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC).

Though he lacks formal academic preparation in medicine and health, Dr. Grant has effectively applied to health science some of the research methodology he used at NASA. He has since written many scholarly papers in such fields as Alzheimer's disease, ischemic heart disease, arthritis and cancer. Among his most important papers is, "An estimate of premature cancer mortality in the United States due to inadequate doses of solar ultraviolet-B radiation" (Cancer 94, 1867-75, 2002).
(http://www.in-cites.com/thresholds-highly-cited.html)
This paper has received 45 ISI citations, which places it in the 1 percentile of clinical medicine papers published in 2002.
(interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/91016211/START).

Dr. William B. Grant is a prime example of a very successful and highly prolific citizen scientist who has performed original research in fields far beyond his academic background. His research into the beneficial effects of natural UVB has significant health implications. You can learn more about his research by visiting the SUNARC web site and by reading his article in this issue of The Citizen Scientist.

Forrest M. Mims III