Edward Von Halle

Edward Von Halle, age 87 and an internationally known scientist, died peacefully in his sleep at his Oak Ridge home on July 5. He was active in the Oak Ridge community as well as a devoted husband and father.

Ed was born on June 30, 1926, in Brooklyn, N.Y., and spent his earliest years there. He won the Westinghouse Prize in high school and went on to study chemical engineering at Carnegie Institute of Technology. When war broke out, Ed was too young to volunteer and had to wait until 1944 to enlist. Ed was on the docks in California ready to be part of the mainland invasion of Japan when news of the atomic bomb brought the war to an end.

After the military, Ed returned to Carnegie Tech and completed his degree. Ed went on in later years to get his master’s degree from Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa., and his doctorate from the University of Tennessee, all in chemical engineering.

In 1950, Ed moved to Oak Ridge, to work at K-25. In 1952, he married Elizabeth Sgourakis and started a family.

Ed Von Halle was an internationally renowned expert in the theory of isotope separation. His Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Tennessee was on the subject of separation of species by thermal diffusion, and his later contributions covered isotope separation by gaseous diffusion, gas centrifuge, and laser methods.

Ed spent most of his career in the Operations Analysis and Planning Division at K-25 where he became greatly respected as a mentor, writer, and expert on various methods for uranium enrichment. He spent a year at the Nuclear Energy Research Center in Karlsruhe, Germany, where he worked on uranium enrichment theory. He also taught a University of Tennessee class on the theory of uranium enrichment as part of the Oak Ridge Resident Graduate Program.

Dr. Von Halle was the author or co-author of many papers and journal articles on the flow and separation theory for gas centrifuges. He also spent a semester at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville pursuing interests in this area. His co-workers greatly appreciated the depth and breadth of his understanding of methods of uranium isotope separation, his unfailing amiability, and his gentle humor. His expertise and professionalism in the field of uranium enrichment have been of major importance to peace and security for the United States and the world.

After his retirement and up until just before his death, Ed consulted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and continued to contribute to the nation in ways only he could. Ed was able to convey his knowledge and his opinions in clear, concise terms that were readily understood by those less trained in the subject.

Because Ed worked in an environment of classified information, many of his contributions are not in the open literature. However, his contributions that are in the open are known and respected internationally. Those who had the privilege of working with Ed had the highest respect for his knowledge, leadership, and ability to mentor them.

Ed was also active in the Oak Ridge community. Ed and Liz were regulars at the Oak Ridge Playhouse. He coached church league basketball. He was Cub Master of Pack 226 in the sixties and Scout Master of Troop 228 in the seventies.

Ed is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; sons, Karl, married to Cindy, Erik, and Kurt, married to Lisa; and three grandchildren, DeAnna Elizabeth, Ann Taylor, and his namesake Alex Edward.

In lieu of flowers, Erik asks that you think of Edward, remember him fondly, and smile.