8 Fred Begay

Fred Begay

Time period:

20th century (1932 – 2013)

Subject:

Physics (thermonuclear fusion)

Biography:

Fred Begay was born to Navajo and Ute parents on July 2, 1932, at the Ute Mountain Indian Reserve in Colorado, USA. Begay spent his early childhood there until he was sent to a government boarding school at the age of 10. At the boarding school, he was forced into learning farming until the age of 18. After leaving the school, Begay joined the American army and went abroad.

Upon returning to the USA, he went back to his mother’s farm but was once again sent away, this time by officials within his Navajo tribe, who had decided he was to study mechanical engineering using money they had received from the government for veterans. Begay studied at the University of New Mexico. Unfortunately, the education he had gotten at the government boarding school was not sufficient and he had attended high school classes at night. Working past this disadvantage, Begay earned a bachelor’s degree in math and science, having changed majors because of a professor’s suggestion. He then earned both a master’s and Ph.D. in nuclear physics.

Following graduate school, Begay worked for Los Alamos National Laboratories in the Nuclear Research Labs. Over the course of his career, Begay was also part of the University of New Mexico space physics research team and was a teaching and research fellow at both the University of Maryland and Stanford. Begay also contributed to numerous other organizations, including being the chairman of the Navajo Nation’s Environmental Protection Commission, an advisor board member Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology at Arizona State University, and a member of many National Science Foundation funded programs and committees.

Summary of their contributions:

As staff at the Los Alamos Nuclear Research Labs, Begay worked on controlled thermonuclear fusion as a means of generating clean energy sources. He focused on plasma fusion to be harnessed to produce energy. Begay specifically worked on using lasers and electron and ion beams for the heating of plasmas to produce fusion. Unfortunately, despite decades of work on this, scientists have not yet been able to develop fusion as a power source.

As a member of the University of New Mexico space physics team, Begay worked on studying high energy gamma-rays and solar neutrons. The team studied the origin of these types of space-originating radiation.

Integration with the BC Secondary Science Curriculum:

Fred Begay’s work integrates particularly well with the curriculum for Science 10. His work on thermonuclear fusion and gamma-ray and solar neutron radiation ties into the topics of nuclear energy and radiation in the energy section. His work directly connects to the big idea of:

“Energy is conserved, and its transformation can affect living things and the environment.”

With his work in thermonuclear fusion having been aimed at creating alternate sources of clean energy, Begay’s work is also directly related to the local and global impacts of energy transformations and how societies need to think about the effects of their energy production, how to mitigate those effects, and how to find alternatives.

Specific curricular competencies connected to Fred Begay’s work include:

Applying and innovating:

• By working on alternative clean energy sources, Begay helped to “contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through” research. His goal of creating thermonuclear fusion would have helped create energy sources that do not produce greenhouse gases and so aid in the fight against climate change.

Processing and analyzing data and information

• Begay found connections between his science research and the teachings of native peoples, showing how “First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing, and local knowledge as sources of information” can connect Western science.

References:

Fred Begay – Research Physicist. The Physics Careers Resource. https://www.compadre.org/careers/physicists/Detail.cfm?id=1541

Native American Connections | Biographies – Fred Begay. NASA. https://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2005/na/bio_fred.htm

Dr. Fred Begay. Legacy. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/fred-begay-obituary?id=8371606

Fred Begay – Navajo/Ute Nuclear Physicist. On Wildlife. https://onwildlife.org/notable-figures-in-science/fred-begay/

Biographies – Fred Begay -1932-. Council of Indian Nations. http://www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cin_bio_fredbegay

Dr. Fred Begay (AKA Clever Fox, Fred Young). Carlson Caspers. https://www.carlsoncaspers.com/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-spotlight/dr-fred-begay/