The University Record, July 6 , 1999 G. Hoyt Whipple
G. Hoyt Whipple, professor emeritus of environmental and industrial health and research scientist, Institute of Environmental and Industrial Health, died May 12 at his home in Gainesville, Fla., after a brief illness.
He was born in San Francisco May 4, 1917, and grew up in Rochester, N.Y. He completed a B.S. in chemistry from Wesleyan University in 1939, and then was a graduate student and researcher at the Division of Industrial Cooperation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the University of Rochester Atomic Energy Project in 1950 and received a Ph.D. in biophysics from Rochester in 1953.
Whipple joined the U-M in 1957 as an associate professor of radiological health and established the graduate program in radiological health at the School of Public Health, leading it until his retirement in 1982. In addition to his teaching, Whipple participated in the International Cooperation Agencies’ Atoms for Peace program. He was consultant to the International Atomic Energy Commission, the World Health Organization, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and numerous utility companies in the United States.
At the time of his retirement, the Regents noted that Whipple’s “advice and counsel concerning radiological health problems has been widely sought by numerous industries and especially by the electric utility companies of the country. Prof. Whipple,” they added, “has had a keen interest in the education and development of students into professionals in health physics. He gave generously of his time and talents to the growth and maintenance of the University of Michigan’s excellent reputation in this field.”
After retiring, Whipple moved to Tallahassee, Fla., and in 1995 moved to Gainesville. An intensely private person, he had a quiet, good sense of humor, loved nature and was a devout bird watcher. Music, reading and writing were his great hobbies.
He is survived by his wife Marta; children from a previous marriage: Andrew Whipple, Dana Whipple, Elizabeth Whipple, Dr. Margaret Whipple and Matthew Whipple; and granddaughter Emily.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Friends of the University of Michigan Library.
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