the world lost a dear friend

awards and titlesdon't say enough.

a couple of days a go Prof. Sir Joseph Rotblat passed away at the age of 96.

Sir Joseph graduated from Warsaw University and worked there until 1939. while on a research trip to the uk his homeland was invaded by germany and he was forced into exile.

while in england he became concerned that germany were building the bomb and convinced the government to do something about it. as a result he was sent to work on the manhatten project in los alamos. however when he learned that the germans had stopped their work he protested that so should the allies. when the officials refused to stop their work he became the only scientist to leave the project on moral grounds. an action for which he was branded a traitor and barred from re-entering the us for a number of years.

in 1955 he signed along with 10 other eminent scientists and intellectuals the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, the document calls for the worlds leaders to seek peacefull resolutions to conflict and highlights the dangers of nuclear conflict.

"There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death." excerpt from russell-einstein manifesto.

following the publication of the manifesto Prof Rotblatt formed the Pugwash conference on science and world affairs. an organisation dedicated to convincing scientists to use their gifts and knowledge only for peaceful means and to promote the taking of an oath for scientists similar to the hipocratric oath for doctors whereby scientists would vow to do only good.

the conferences were unique in that they called together all the worlds leading scientists on the understanding that they gathered only for science and did not speak on behalf of governments but only as themselves. the conferences enabled scientists to discuss openly and freely their views on nuclear weapons.

for this work Prof. Rotblat and the Pugwash organisation shared the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize.

at a conference i helped to organise in 2001, Sir Joseph was an invited speaker. the conference was a small, international conference for physics students. sir joseph spoke for over an hour about his life and his dedication to ridding the world firstly of nuclear weapons and then of war. he held a room of over 300 young students in awe as he an ageing man in his 90's spoke with passion of how we were the future and how it was our responsibility to take up the struggle for peace.

i recall thinking at the time of the power of mankind and how the power of one man over the course of his life was slowly but surely changing how the scientific community thought. more and more now adays sicentists are heard to say 'should we' instead of 'can we'

im glad to say i met Sir Joseph after his talk and later when he came to party with all the students. he spoke with a few of us about his correspondance with einstein and max born. his love for science and his hatred of war. he convinced me that the conscious is once of our strongest tools and if we live by our own we're probably on the right track.

it has always been one of my treasured moments to meet one of the worlds great thinkers and humanitarians and i'm deeply saddened that he is no longer with us although for the time he was among us the world was truelly blessed.

Professor Sir Joseph Rotblat
Rest in Peace