science

Rosalie Bertell

Rosalie Bertell is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rosalie Bertell rather than just read about it. In short: Rosalie Bertell (April 4, 1929 – June 14, 2012) was a Canadian-American scientist, author, environmental activist, epidemiologist, and Catholic nun. Bertell was a sister of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, best known for her work in the field of ionizing radiation.

Key takeaways

Rosalie Bertell belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rosalie Bertell to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rosalie Bertell from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rosalie Bertell (April 4, 1929 – June 14, 2012) was a Canadian-American scientist, author, environmental activist, epidemiologist, and Catholic nun. Bertell was a sister of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, best known for her work in the field of ionizing radiation. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, she worked in environmental health since 1970. She wrote the book "No Immediate Danger", describing the dangers of radiation from the nuclear industry. Rosalie won many awards, including the Right Livelihood Award in 1986, for "raising public awareness about the destruction of the biosphere and human gene pool, especially by low-level radiation." She died of cancer in 2012.

Biography Rosalie Bertell was born to Paul G. and Helen (née Twohey) Bertell in Buffalo, New York, the third of four children. Her mother was Canadian and her father was American. She had an older sister, Mary Katherine Bertell (1925–2011), and a younger brother, John Twohey Bertell (1930–2002). A third sibling, Paul W. Bertell died in infancy in 1921. In 1966, she received a Ph.D. in Biometrics from the Catholic University of America. She received her BA in Math/Physics/Education from D'Youville College, and later was an associate professor of mathematics at D'Youville from 1969 to 1973. From 1969 to 1978, Bertell was senior cancer research scientist at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. She was a consultant to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and to Health Canada. In 1983, she received the "Hans-Adalbert Schweigart"-Medal from the World Union for Protection of Life. She was president of International Institute of Concern for Public Health from 1987 to 2004. She founded the International Medical Commission Chernobyl in 1996. She wrote the books No Immediate Danger: Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth (1985) and Planet Earth: The Latest Weapon of War (2000). Bertell was a coordinator for the International Medical Commission on Bhopal, and campaigned for an independent body "to coordinate health care, research and rehabilitation" for victims of the Bhopal disaster. Bertell's Nuclear Contamination Act was adopted April 2006, as World Legislative Act 35 by the 9th session of the Provisional World Parliament. She suffered attempts on her life, and attacks on her scientific credentials. In 2012, Bertell died of cancer at age 83 at Saint Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

Awards Bertell received many awards, including:

Hans-Adalbert-Schweigart-Medal (1983) Right Livelihood Award (1986) World Federalist Peace Award Ontario Premier's Council on Health, Health Innovator Award (1991) United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 award Seán MacBride International Peace Prize

Filmography Nuclear Addiction: Dr. Rosalie Bertell on the Cost of Deterrence is a 1986 documentary directed by Academy Award winner Terre Nash and produced by Studio D of the National Film Board of Canada. Additionally, Bertell appeared in at least five other documentary films between 1985 and 2005. They include:

See also Irradiation Chemtrail conspiracy theory Alice Stewart Helen Caldicott

External links International Institute of Concern for Public Health There is a Rosalie Bertell fond at Library and Archives Canada. The archival reference number is R6847, former archival reference number MG31-K39. The fond covers the date range 1942 to 2001. It contains textual records, audio-visual material and graphic material.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rosalie Bertell

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rosalie Bertell claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rosalie Bertell before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rosalie Bertell ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rosalie Bertell

In research: Rosalie Bertell appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rosalie Bertell in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rosalie Bertell is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1929 births, 2012 deaths, 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rosalie Bertell outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Rosalie Bertell” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Rosalie Bertell in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rosalie Bertell means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rosalie Bertell out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rosalie Bertell in simple terms?

Why does Rosalie Bertell matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rosalie Bertell?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rosalie Bertell.