shoot over Memorial
Day weekend. May 29 would have been their 54th wedding
anniversary. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son
and daughter and a number of grandchildren. Because of Bills
special relationship with The Bioelectromagnetics Society,
we are publishing a tribute to him that was written and read
by Gloria Parsley, Executive Director of BEMS at the recent
annual meeting in lieu of the traditional obituary.
TribuTe To bill Wisecup
1930-2007
I was hired by Bill on the same day that he began managing
BEMS - April Fools Day in 1986, a fact that may have been a
precursor for what lay ahead in our relationship. Bills sense of
humor was so dry that more often than not, I didnt understand
his jokes or jovial comments. And to make matters worse, Bill
loved dogs - while I loved cats. This meant that when he would
bark at me - I would hiss right back! We soon found out that we
were two very driven, hard headed, perfectionists that seemed
to be cut from the same cloth.
However, Bill and I quickly joined forces that April Fools Day
as we faced a major challenge: we had a meeting to plan in
Madison, Wisconsin, and only 2 months to do it in. As each day
moved forward, valuable lessons were being learned by both of
us. New ideas and concepts were being formulated, tested, im-
proved and put into practice. Three very chaotic months later
we sat back, reevaluated and discovered that we made a great
team. Our first BEMS meeting was a success and we were ea-
ger to get started planning the next event.
Bill filled my world with brilliant possibilities. He broadened
my horizons and he constantly showed me how to dream, to
think outside the box and to establish plans that would eventu-
ally lead me down a path towards accomplishing my goals. If
I found that I was taking myself too seriously, Bill would often
ask who cares? or so what? and bring me back down to
earth. During stressful periods he would say things like the
world wont fall off its axis if we dont get to that today or
were not medical physicians theyre the only ones respon-
sible for saving lives today and would bring things back into
perspective for me.
Bill was a lifelong learner, constantly asking questions, seek-
ing guidance, and removing barriers to things that may have
seemed impossible to overcome. He re-ignited that search for
knowledge in me, encouraging me to go back to school. As I
pursued my management degree part time over the next 8 years,
Bill enrolled in courses too, studying archeology and photog-
raphy. His generous corporate tuition reimbursement plan fi-
nanced my entire college education.
NUMBER 196
www.bioelectromagnetics.org
MAY/JUNE 2007
iN THis issue...
Tribute to bill Wisecup ................................... 12
in Memoriam edward Alpen .......................... 2
New program - NsF physics Division .............. 2
Presidents Column - Reflections from
our First Asian Meeting ...................................... 3
BEMS Board of Directors Names Page
as Newsletter editor ............................................ 4
Selected Reports from the Annual Meeting .. 45
plenary sessions Highlight
Annual Meeting... .......................................... 510
beMs student Award Winners................... . .. 10
NexT issue HigHligHTs.... ...................... 10
A Special Thanks from the
beMs executive Director ................................ 11
2007 election results ........................................ 11
sceNiHr report ............................................. 12
calendar ....................................................... 1112
NEwslEttER

A Publication of the Bioelectromagnetics society
See Bill Wisecup, continued on page 2 2
The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter May/June 2007
Bills desire to travel also motivated me. As we journeyed all
over the world, Bill would look at any new or difficult challeng-
es and somehow transform them into valuable opportunities.
As BEMS ambassador to new lands, Bill saw interacting with
people of all backgrounds as a way to share their life experi-
ences and he loved to hear about their passions, to find out what
was important to them and what they loved about their lives.
Through trial and error, Bill became a very talented photogra-
pher. In this arena, his stubbornness truly was an asset, as he
was always determined to master each new camera and lens in
order to capture the best shot. Bill was passionate about photo-
graphing the remote areas of the world. His photographic web
site states that he believes it is not possible for us to live in iso-
lation of other peoples and cultures. He hoped that his pho-
tography would be a small step towards bridging that gap.
Bill worked tirelessly bridging the gap for the worldwide BEMS
community, promoting positive and enriching values and over
his 14 year tenure, he built a strong Society that has continued
to sustain and promote those very qualities. Too often we can
get bogged down with difficulties in life and forget to count our
blessings. Bills jovial optimism would greet me each day with
Good morning Mary Sunshine. His regular response on the
telephone would be to say: If I were any better Id be twins.
Can you picture two Bill Wisecups? I cant. He was a totally
unique individual. His approach toward life created a different
world for me, with more opportunities for joy and fulfillment
than ever before.
Bill was my mentor, but even more than that he was my friend.
In memory of his honor and integrity, I challenge each one of
you to reach out and seek new opportunities, opening yourself
up to new possibilities, learning and living each moment to its
fullest. Thats what Bill would have wanted - for everyone.
Gloria Parsley
BEMS Executive Director
eDWArD l. AlpeN -
FirsT presiDeNT oF beMs
Edward Alpen, the first president of the
Bioelectromagnetics Society, and a distin-
guished radiation biophysicist with Law-
rence Berkeley National Lab, passed away
Nov. 3, 2006 at the age of 84. He had suf-
fered from complications as a result of ra-
diation therapy for a brain tumor.

Ed Alpen was selected by the founders of the Bioelectromagnet-
ics Society to be the president of the charter board of directors
because of his high scientific stature in the broader radiation
community and his exemplary administrative skills. Ed was
known for his ability to lead groups of people with a widely dif-
fering mix of skills to focus on issues and reach agreements that
all would champion. In a recent oral history he is recalled as
knowing how to say, No for the most part, in a way that
people would accept it, although they might not be thrilled.
Ed received his B.S. in 1946 from the University of California
at Berkeley in chemistry following three years of service in the
Navy, and his Ph.D. in 1950 from the University of California
at San Francisco in pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacol-
ogy. He then completed post-doctoral training in pharmacol-
ogy at George Washington Universitys School of Medicine in
1951, and returned to California to join the US Naval Radiation
Defense Laboratory (NRDL).
While at NRDL, Ed studied the effects of ionizing radiation on
animals and man, including the accidental exposure of human
beings from fallout during testing at the Bikini Atoll, in March
1954, where he carried out histopathological evaluations of skin
lesions. Ed also spent some sabbatical time at the Radiobiology
Laboratory, University of Oxford in 1959-1960. He served as
Manager of the Biological and Medical Sciences Division at
NRDL from 1951 to 1969, where he rose to the rank of Captain
in the US Navy.
In 1969, Ed joined the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(PNNL) as Manager of the Environmental and Life Sciences
Division, and was appointed Director of PNNL in 1972.
In 1975, Ed accepted two appointments in the Lawrence Berke-
ley (National) Laboratory (LBL), Director of the Donner Labo-
ratory and Associate Director of LBL, and an appointment as
professor of medical physics at the University of California -
Berkeley. He served in the two LBL positions until 1986. He
retired from LBL in 1991, but continued teaching and conduct-
ing research in his faculty position at UCB until retiring as an
Emeritus Professor.
Eds principal areas of research were experimental radiotherapy
with charged particle beams and neutrons, radiation biophysics
and medical physics, radiation, carcinogenesis, non-stochastic
late effects in organ systems, and cellular radiation biology.
As we go to press, we learned of the recent death of John
leonowich, but details are incomplete at this time. Those
who wish to contribute to his obituary should send a note to
bemsnewsletter@gmail.com before August 10, 2007 so that we
may compile a more complete picture of his life for the next
issue of the newsletter.
NeW NsF biopHYsics progrAM
A new biophysics program has recently been announced by the
National Science Foundation that will fund projects in which
the lessons learned from studying biological problems foster
new concepts and ideas that expand the intellectual basis of
physics (both experiment and theory). This is in addition to the
biophysics program in the Biology directorate and bioengineer-
ing under the Engineering directorate. Target date is July 31,
2007. Apply to PD 07-7246.
For more details go to:
http://www.nsf.gov/biophys
Program Director:
Denise Caldwell; dcaldwel@nsf.gov; (703) 292-7371
bill Wi