Tomorrow, UC Berkeley’s Radiation Safety Officer embarks on his retirement from that fine institution. His tenure here has been marked by the a quantum leap improvement in the programs and compliance for work with radioactive materials & radiation producing machines. When he arrived, UC Berkeley was an object of derision in the academic community for the condition our program; as he leaves, we are held up as an example to others for what you can achieve when you really care, and are willing to roll up your shirtsleeves and get dirty. I have never seen Mr. Yuhas more happy than when he was picking through garbage in a dumpster, smiling with glee, and surveying away with his Geiger counter after someone tossed something they shouldn’t have.
He’s served with the US Navy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and somehow we were lucky enough at UC Berkeley to get some time with him steering us right. Working with him has been a pleasure and an education. Someday, I will share a tale from his career as a young regulator entitled “The Man from NRC and the Seagull” as it is pure comedy gold.
And so, I share his retirement gift from all of us that have worked with him because we will miss his Papa Smurf looks and evil cackle when something goes wrong. If the Retirement Diet is one of pure beer, or if it is less beer but enjoyed over a much longer, well-chilled period on the Sacramento Delta, he is now well set. Of course, I’ll be really surprised if he stays retired for any length of time. Via con cerveza, Greg Yuhas.
