Robert O. Becker

Robert Otto Becker (May 31, 1923 − May 14, 2008) was a U.S. orthopedic surgeon and researcher in electrophysiology/electromedicine. He worked mainly as professor at Upstate Medical Center in State University of New York, Syracuse, and as Director of Orthopedic Surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Syracuse, New York.[1][2]

Robert O. Becker
Born(1923-05-31)May 31, 1923
River Edge, New Jersey
DiedMay 14, 2008(2008-05-14) (aged 84)
Lowville, New York
Alma materGettysburg College
New York University School of Medicine
Known forFather of Electromedicine
Electrochemically induced cellular regeneration
Spouse(s)Lillian Janet Moller
Children3
Scientific career
Fieldsbioelectricity
electromedicine
InstitutionsUpstate Medical Center at State University of New York
Veterans Administration Hospital

Becker was known for his work in bioelectricity and leading the early opposition to high-voltage power lines.[2] He has been named as one of the most influential figures in the area of anti-EMF activism.[3]

Early life

Becker was born May 31, 1923 in River Edge, New Jersey to Otto Julius Becker and Elizabeth Blanck.[1][2] He earned a bachelor's degree from Gettysburg College in 1946 and a medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine in 1948.[1][2] Becker was an intern at New York's Bellevue Hospital, then completed a residency Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover, New Hampshire.[1][2] Serving in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946, during World War II.[1] Becker also served from 1951 to 1953 in the United States Army Medical Corps.[1][2]

On September 14, 1946, Becker married Lillian Janet Moller in New Canaan, Connecticut.[1] They resided in New York City and Valley Stream, New York before settling in Syracuse in the late 1950s.[1] There, Becker joined the SUNY Upstate Medical Center.[2]

Research

Becker has been credited with furthering the awareness of the scientific community to the study of electric potentials in organisms.[4] His work showed that living organisms and animals show a direct current of electric charge which is measurable from their body surface.[4] In the 1960s Becker's research also showed that living bone can piezoelectrically generate electric potentials,[4] which led to work on using electricity in the treatment of ununited fractures.[5] Ultimately, however, the use of electrotherapy for increasing bone healing has not been shown to be effective.[6][7]

Becker believed that extrasensory perception could occur from extremely low frequency (ELF) waves.[8]

Awards

In 1964, Becker received the William S. Middleton Award from the research and development agency of the United States Veterans Health Administration.[9] The official research history of the SUNY Upstate Medical Center also states that Becker was awarded "the Nicolas Andry Award by the American Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons in 1979".[10]

Later life

In the years prior to his death, Becker lived in Lowville, New York.[2] He died in Lowville's Lewis County General Hospital due to complications of pneumonia on May 14, 2008.[1]

Published works

Books

  • Electromagnetism and Life. State University of New York Press, Albany 1982, ISBN 0-87395-560-9
  • The Body Electric. Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life (with Gary Selden). Morrow, New York 1985, ISBN 0-688-06971-1
  • Cross Currents. The Promise of Electromedicine, the Perils of Electropollution. Torcher, Los Angeles 1990, ISBN 0-87477-536-1

As publisher

  • Mechanisms of Growth Control, edited by Robert O. Becker. Thomas, Springfield 1981, ISBN 0-398-04469-4

Selected papers PubMed contains 91 listings for Becker RO. The listings below are some of those for which Becker is first author.

Patents

Iontopheretic system for stimulation of tissue healing and regeneration US 5814094 A 1998[11]

See also

References
  1. "Dr. Robert O. Becker". Watertown Daily Times. Watertown, New York. May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  2. Miller, Stephen (June 11, 2008). "Robert Becker, 84, Raised Concerns Over Power Lines". The New York Sun. New York. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  3. Burgess, Adam (2004). "Radiating Uncertainty". Cellular Phones, Public Fears, and a Culture of Precaution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 146. ISBN 9780521520829. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  4. Bischof, Marco (1994). "The History of Bioelectromagnetism: The Instrument Era". In Ho, Mae-Wan; Popp, Fritz-Albert; Warnke, Ulrich (eds.). Bioelectrodynamics and Biocommunication. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. p. 21. ISBN 9789810216658. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  5. Peltier, Leonard F. (1999) [1990]. "The Treatment of Ununited Fractures". Fractures: A History and Iconography of Their Treatment. San Francisco: Norman Publishing. p. 205. ISBN 9780930405168. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  6. Mollon B, da Silva V, Busse JW, Einhorn TA, Bhandari M (November 2008). "Electrical stimulation for long-bone fracture-healing: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials". J Bone Joint Surg Am. 90 (11): 2322–30. doi:10.2106/JBJS.H.00111. PMID 18978400.
  7. Kooistra BW, Jain A,1 and Hanson BP (April–June 2009). "Electrical stimulation: Nonunions". Indian J Orthop. 43 (2): 149–55. doi:10.4103/0019-5413.50849. PMC 2762246. PMID 19838363.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Irwin, Harvey J; Watt, Caroline (2007). An introduction to parapsychology (5th ed.). Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Company. p. 125. ISBN 9780786430598. OCLC 76828975. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  9. Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development. "VA BLR&D Research Awards". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  10. SUNY Upstate Department of Orthopedic Surgery Research History
  11. "Iontopheretic system for stimulation of tissue healing and regeneration".
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