Australian Left Review
Article Title
Peter Burhop - An Appreciation
Abstract
The obituary notices in January paid tribute to Eric Burhop the distinguished Australian nuclear physicist. A Fellow of the Royal Society, and Head of the Physics Department at University College, London, Eric was also the President of the World Federation of Scientific Workers (WFSW) and was himself an indefatigable worker for the causes of detente and disarmament. References were made to h is key role in the negotiatio ns between Frederic Joliot-Curie and Bertrand Russell in 1955. These negotiations resulted immediately in the so-called Einstein-Russell Manifesto against nuclear weapons. The subsequent result was the setting up of the Pugwash Conferences, bringing technical experts from East and West together and, in the opinion of many, playing a major part in averting nuclear disaster.