F. Ward Whicker, Ph.D
Professor Emeritus

Phone: (970) 491-5343
Fax: (970) 491-0623
Email: Ward.Whicker@colostate.edu
Office: 335 Molecular and Radiological Biosciences Building

 

Degrees

Ph.D., Radiation Biology, Colorado State University
B.S., Chemistry and Biology, Colorado State University

Dr. Whicker is regarded as one of the founders of Radioecology, the field addressing the fate and effects of radioactivity in the environment. His early work on fallout radionuclides in ecosystems had implications for health effects in human, plant and animal populations. His research in that field is known locally, nationally and internationally. His research on the effects of ionizing radiation on plants and animals has contributed to the development of national and international standards and guidelines for protecting the general environment from radioactive contamination.

His work on radionuclide transport processes has played a role in our understanding of mineral cycles and energy flows in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. DR. Whicker led the development of the PATHWAY foodchain transport model to predict internal doses from fallout radionuclides to residents of nine states nearest the Nevada Test Site. He also was a pioneer in using field measurement data to test the accuracy of computer models for prediction of radionuclide behavior in the environment. Additionally, Dr. Whicker helped pioneer the use of probabilistic uncertainty/sensitivity analysis in environmental transport and dose codes.

Research Interests

An independent & comprehensive risk assessment for public health and the environment & development of a risk-based decision analysis framework for the Los Alamos National Laboratory

Selected Publications

 • Whicker, F.W., T.G. Hinton, M.M. MacDonell, J.E. Pinder III and L.J. Habegger. Avoiding destructive remediation at DOE sites. Science 303 2004;1615-1616.
 • Hinton, T.G., J.S. Bedford, J.C. Congdon and F.W. Whicker. Effects of radiation on the environment: A need to question old paradigms and enhance collaboration among radiation biologists and radiation ecologists. Radiation Research 2004;162:332-338.
 • Whicker, F.W. and J.E. Pinder. 2002. Food chains and biogeochemical pathways: Contributions of fallout and other radionuclides. Health Physics 82: 680-689.
 • Ulsh, B.A.,F.W. Whicker, T.G. Hinton, J.D. Congdon and J.S. Bedford. 2001. Chromosome translocations in T. Scripta: The dose-rate effect and In Vivo lymphocyte radiation response. Radiation Research 155: 63-73.
 • Whicker, F.W. et.al. Quantities, units and terms in radioecology. 2001. Journal of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, Report 65: 1-44.
 • Whicker, F.W. 2000. Radioecology: relevance to problems of the new millennium. J. Environ. Radioactivity 50: 173-178.
 • Ibrahim, S.A., F.W. Whicker, S.K. Reuss, R.D. Whicker, P.L. Chapman and M.P. Krahenbuhl. 1999. Plutonium excretion in urine of residents living near the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site. Health Physics 76(4):368-379.
 • Whicker, F.W., T.G. Hinton, K.A. Orlandini and S.B. Clark. 1999. Uptake of natural and anthropogenic actinides in vegetable crops grown on a contaminated lake bed. J. Environmental Radioactivity 45: 1-12.
 • Stone, J.M., R.D. Whicker, S.A. Ibrahim and F.W. Whicker. 1999. Spatial variations in natural background radiation: Absorbed dose rates in air in Colorado. Health Physics 76(5): 516-523.
 • Whicker, F.W., G. Shaw, G. Voigt, E. Holm. 1999. Radioactive contamination: state of the science and its application to predictive models. Env. Pollution 100: 133-149.
 • Whicker, F.W. 1999. Protection of the environment from ionizing radiation: An international perspective. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Ionizing Radiation: Environmental Protection Approaches for Nuclear Facilities. Pp 136-142. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottowa, Canada.
 • Whicker, F.W. 1997. Impacts of large radionuclide releases on plant and animal populations. pp. 74-93. In: Health Impacts of Large Releases of Radionuclides. Ciba Foundation, London, UK.