Vol.3 No.1	February - May 1999
The Official Newsletter of the World Innovation Foundation

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Nobel Laureate Glenn Theodore Seaborg

Great men are great because they wish to achieve great things in life and change the world in most cases to create a better future world. Glenn Seaborg was debatably the greatest living scientist up to his untimely death on 25 February of this year. His passion for scientific discovery and love of his fellow man were his paramount concerns. Although he had been the scientific adviser to no less than ten Presidents of the United States he was, above all that, a very humble and kind person. His achievements in life are legendary not just in the USA but throughout the world’s scientific community. Indeed, in his father’s homeland, Sweden, he has entered into their own folk-law; a legend in his own time. Although Glenn helped to develop the Atomic Bomb he implored the US President and the Military of the time to use the weapon only as a demonstration, as he knew only too well of its devastating destructive power - they ignored his pleas. When Glenn accepted his nomination to become an Executive Council Member of this Institution, he did not ask any questions or delayed in responding; he knew instinctively that what we had set about to do was right for the future of humankind. In his own words, we quote
"Thank you so much for nominating me for membership to the executive council of the Institute of National Economic Enrichment and Development^*. I am pleased to accept the invitation and look forward to being a part of this interesting and exciting new venture".
Indeed he was even more humble in his response to become the Founding President of the WIF and Glenn replied,
"This is in response to your e-mail titled 'Honorary President of the World Innovation Foundation'. I would be pleased to serve as Honorary President of the World Innovation Foundation. Thank you for thinking of me in filling this very important role".
When asked to help the WIF in the formulation of the strategic sponsorship documents he again replied in his instinctive way,
"...I am enclosing a picture of me to be used in producing a world sponsorship document to give our prospective sponsors a better feel of who we are."
At all times, Glenn was willing to help and fully support the WIF philosophy and strategy. Even in his eighties he was still fully active in US government initiatives and road-shows expounding the virtues of science, education and technology to the young and old alike; Glenn never gave up in his quest to help all others. And, although a remarkable and unique person, his ways were all the time of kindness and humility towards the world at large. In this respect, Glenn’s untimely passing is not just a loss to all those who knew him but also a great loss to the whole of mankind as his great wisdom and council are no longer there. The world is a much sadder place without these great men of science who make for a better world for our children and their futures; for it is for them that we do what we do. In this respect one can only surmise that this is possibly what the great creator intended at the beginning, when time and matter were initially conceived. We are sure at the WIF that Glenn is still watching over us and guiding us through our mission for the good of all future humankind.

* Now the WIF



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A Few of the Many Great Achievements of Glenn T. Seaborg (Born 19 April 1912 - Passed from this life 25 February 1999)


1. Scientific Adviser to no less than ten Presidents of the United States of America.
2. Head, Plutonium Chemical Works of the Manhattan Project.
3. The unique privilege of being the only whilst living scientist in the history of the world to have one of the universes’ Elements named after him in his honour Element 106 ’Seaborgium’ - all others had been awarded the world’s greatest scientific distinction after their deaths.
4. Co-discoverer of Element 94 (Plutonium) and nine other Elements on the Periodic Table.
5. Discoverer of countless atomic isotopes including Pu-239 and U-233 and which many now save millions of lives every year from the ravages of Cancer and other life destroying diseases.
6. Nobel Prize for Chemistry and being one of the youngest recipients ever.
7. Inventor of the Actinide Concept.
8. An early Einstein Protégé - Being privileged to talk and discuss many things that have given mankind insights into science and creation with the 20th century’s greatest scientist, Albert Einstein.
9. Chancellor of America’s Pre-eminent University, the University of California at Berkeley and where Berkeley is the university’s Flagship.
10. President and Chairman, A.A.A.S.
11. Chairman, US Atomic Energy Commission (now the Department of Energy) for an un-precedented 10 year period.
12. Co-founder and Chairman, Lawrence Hall of Science.
13. Associate Director-at-Large, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,the US’s first national research facility.
14. President, American Chemical Society (the largest professional scientific institution in the world). President, International Platform Association.
15. Chairman, Advanced Physics Corporation.
16. Member of the President’s National Commission on Excellence in Education.
17. Chairman of the Science Committee of the Academic Standards Commission, State of California, USA (appointment 1998).
18. Chairman & President, UN International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy.
19. Chairman, USSR - signing of Memorandum on Co-operation in the Field of Utilisation of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes.
20. Chairman, USSR - signing of Limited Test Ban Treaty.




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