Charles Wesley Shilling
Encyclopedia
Capt. Charles Wesley Shilling USN (ret.)
(September 21, 1901 – December 23, 1994) was an American
physician
who was known as a leader in the field of undersea
and hyperbaric medicine, research, and education. Shilling was widely recognized as an expert on deep sea diving, naval medicine, radiation biology, and submarine capabilities. In 1939, he was Senior Medical Officer in the rescue of the submarine U.S.S. Squalus
.
where his father was President. Shilling later went on to receive a Bachelor of Science
from Taylor University along with a Bachelor of Arts
from the University of Michigan
in 1923.
After completion of his medical training at the University of Michigan, Shilling completed an internship at the Chelsea Naval Hospital.
In 1932, the Navy sent Shilling to the Harvard School of Public Health
where he was joined by Albert R. Behnke
.
In 1954, Shilling received an honorary Doctorate of Science from Taylor University.
crew. Other work included research and development of Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment
aboard the USS S-4
. Shilling was transferred to the submarine base in the Panama Canal Zone
where he spent two years serving as medical officer aboard submarines as they traversed the canal. This work also included treating the medical problems associated with salvage
diving operations.
From Panama, Shilling was transferred to the Navy Diving School in Washington, DC where he learned to dive and began diving research at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit. Shilling researched the topics of nitrogen narcosis
, oxygen toxicity
, and decompression table development including important research on surface decompression.
In the late 1930s, Shilling was transferred back to the New London Submarine Base where he focused on hearing and vision for submariners. His work involved the development of the methods and tools needed for selection of sound listening and lookout duty. In 1939, a failed request for a $78.00 audiometer
resulted in receiving $3,000.00. This small amount was spent to begin the first medical research laboratory dedicated to submarine research. This laboratory grew to become the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory
(NSMRL).
In 1939, Shilling was the Senior Medical Officer in the rescue of personnel from the submarine USS Squalus. Divers from the submarine rescue ship , under the direction of the salvage and rescue expert Charles Momsen
, employed the new Rescue Chamber
he had invented years earlier but which the US Navy command had repeatedly blocked. Earlier in development of the bell, they demonstrated that a bell could attach to a submarine torpedo room hatch but the submarine crew had not decided who should transfer to the surface in the bell. One of the crew stated, within Shilling's hearing, "Take the Doc. He's the most useless piece of furniture we've got". Shilling then became the first person to go from a submarine to the surface in a bell. Utilizing these techniques, they were able to rescue all 33 surviving crew members from the sunken submarine including future Rear Admiral
Oliver F. Naquin
. Shilling later recalled that the untested submarine rescue procedures utilized with the Squalus incident "worked like a charm". Later, the salvage divers used recently developed heliox
diving schedules and successfully avoided the cognitive impairment symptoms associated with such deep dives
, thereby confirming Behnke's theory of nitrogen narcosis.
In 1947, Shilling left NSMRL for a position in the Office of Naval Research
(ONR). Four years of this post were spent directing medical, biological, and psychological studies and ended with two years as the director of the Research Division, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery as well as the special assistant for the BioSciences. During his time at ONR, he established the Committee on Hearing and the Committee on Vision for the Armed Services National Research Council
.
Shilling's naval career ended with a post at the United States Naval Academy
were he served as the Senior Medical Officer, Command Medical Officer for the Severn River Naval Command, and the head of the Department of Hygiene at ONR.
from 1955 to 1960. Here he managed multimillion dollar research programs.
In October 1961, Shilling was appointed to head the Biology Science Communications Project that was located at the American Institute of Biological Sciences
and later moved to George Washington University
. This project was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation
to study "all phases of the communications problems as they relate to the biological sciences and scientists". A major focus of this project was indexing
and abstracting
the world serial publications
and ensuring their availability in the United States. One important achievement was the organization of the Council of Biological Editors
whose style guide provides guidelines for publications in the biological sciences.
By 1973, the Undersea Medical Society (UMS), now the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society
, had grown to the point of needing an office and hired Shilling as the first Executive secretary. Here, Shilling applied his knowledge in diving medicine and biological communications to establish the UMS scientific journal, Undersea Biomedical Research. The journal continued under the name Undersea Biomedical Research until 1993 when it was changed to Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal.
Shilling's experience with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in the treatment of decompression sickness
allowed him to connect the diving community with the growing clinical HBO community. In 1975, Shilling gathered 50 experts in HBO therapy for a workshop conceived by Dr. Behnke. The workshop was chaired by Dr. Jefferson Davis and the group eventually published the definitive text Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. The UMS also created a committee to periodically review the scientific evidence supporting the use of HBO and the first Hyperbaric Oxygen Committee Report was published in 1977. Shilling served as Executive secretary until his retirement in 1987.
Following his retirement from the UHMS, Shilling took a two year post as Distinguished scientist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
.
The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society's library was started by the efforts of Dr. Shilling. The UHMS Charles W. Shilling Library is the largest repository of diving and hyperbaric research and clinical information –current and historical–in the world. The library
is located at the Duke University
Medical Center (DUMC) Library in Durham, NC. The collection consists of book
s, journals
, reports
, workshop
s, symposia
, conference proceedings
, and annotated bibliographies
spanning the fields of diving, hyperbaric, and marine
medicine. There is a small journal and newsletter collection dealing with diving safety and diving medicine. The library has extensive reprint files of articles, cataloged by author
, related to diving and hyperbaric medicine and dating back to the 1930s.
Many of the UHMS publications have been scanned and are available online at the Rubicon Research Repository
. Other articles can be found in the DUMC Archive
finding aid
s.
Shilling's portrait, painted by Daniel Thompson of the Corcoran Gallery
and School of Art
, was dedicated October 23, 1994. It currently resides on the second floor of the DUMC Library.
, the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, the Aerospace Medical Association
, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, and Sigma Xi
. Shilling received the Founders Medal from the Association of Military Surgeons for work in diving medicine (1953); the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Michigan (1959); the Golden Cross of the Order of the Phoenix from the Greek Government for creating a method of radiation sterilization of a fly
, a technique which helped save the Greek olive
crop (1960); Alumnus of the Year from Taylor University (1960); the Albert Behnke Award from the UHMS (1975); the New Orleans Grand Isle (NOGI) Award from the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences (1979); the Chamber of Achievement Award from Taylor University (1980); the Florida Underwater Council Service Award (1980); the Smithsonian
Science Information Exchange Award (1980); the Schiffahrtmedizinsches Institut Der Marine Award (1980); and in 1982, the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society established the C.W. Shilling Award in his honor, Shilling was also the first recipient.
with his wife Miriam.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
(September 21, 1901 – December 23, 1994) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
who was known as a leader in the field of undersea
Diving medicine
Diving medicine, also called undersea and hyperbaric medicine , is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of conditions caused by humans entering the undersea environment...
and hyperbaric medicine, research, and education. Shilling was widely recognized as an expert on deep sea diving, naval medicine, radiation biology, and submarine capabilities. In 1939, he was Senior Medical Officer in the rescue of the submarine U.S.S. Squalus
USS Sailfish (SS-192)
USS Sailfish , a , was originally named Squalus.Her keel was laid on 18 October 1937 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, as Squalus, the only ship of the United States Navy named for the squalus. She was launched on 14 September 1938 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas C...
.
Background
Charles Wesley Shilling was born September 21, 1901 in Indiana on the campus of Taylor UniversityTaylor University
Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian college located in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian colleges in America....
where his father was President. Shilling later went on to receive a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
from Taylor University along with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1923.
After completion of his medical training at the University of Michigan, Shilling completed an internship at the Chelsea Naval Hospital.
In 1932, the Navy sent Shilling to the Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
where he was joined by Albert R. Behnke
Albert R. Behnke
Captain Albert Richard Behnke Jr. USN was an American physician, who was principally responsible for developing the U.S. Naval Medical Research Institute...
.
In 1954, Shilling received an honorary Doctorate of Science from Taylor University.
Naval career
After joining the Navy in 1927, Shilling was sent to the Naval Submarine Base in New London, Connecticut where he was involved in the selection and training of submarineSubmarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
crew. Other work included research and development of Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment
Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment
Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment MK-10, also known as Submarine Escape and Immersion Equipment is whole-body suit and one-man life raft, designed by British company RFD Beaufort Limited, that allows submariners to escape from a sunken submarine. The suit provides protection against hypothermia...
aboard the USS S-4
USS S-4 (SS-109)
USS S-4 was an S-class submarine of the United States Navy. In 1927, she was sunk by being accidentally rammed by a Coast Guard destroyer with the loss of all hands but was raised and restored to service until stricken in 1936.-Building:...
. Shilling was transferred to the submarine base in the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
where he spent two years serving as medical officer aboard submarines as they traversed the canal. This work also included treating the medical problems associated with salvage
Marine salvage
Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
diving operations.
From Panama, Shilling was transferred to the Navy Diving School in Washington, DC where he learned to dive and began diving research at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit. Shilling researched the topics of nitrogen narcosis
Nitrogen narcosis
Narcosis while diving , is a reversible alteration in consciousness that occurs while scuba diving at depth. The Greek word ναρκωσις is derived from narke, "temporary decline or loss of senses and movement, numbness", a term used by Homer and Hippocrates...
, oxygen toxicity
Oxygen toxicity
Oxygen toxicity is a condition resulting from the harmful effects of breathing molecular oxygen at elevated partial pressures. It is also known as oxygen toxicity syndrome, oxygen intoxication, and oxygen poisoning...
, and decompression table development including important research on surface decompression.
In the late 1930s, Shilling was transferred back to the New London Submarine Base where he focused on hearing and vision for submariners. His work involved the development of the methods and tools needed for selection of sound listening and lookout duty. In 1939, a failed request for a $78.00 audiometer
Audiometer
An audiometer is a machine used for evaluating hearing loss. Audiometers are standard equipment at ENT clinics and in audiology centers. They usually consist of an embedded hardware unit connected to a pair of headphones and a test subject feedback button, sometimes controlled by a standard PC...
resulted in receiving $3,000.00. This small amount was spent to begin the first medical research laboratory dedicated to submarine research. This laboratory grew to become the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory
Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory
The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory is located on the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The laboratory's mission is to protect the health and enhance the performance of United States War Fighters through focused submarine, diving, and surface research solutions.-History...
(NSMRL).
Charles Momsen
Charles Bowers Momsen , nicknamed "Swede", was born in Flushing, New York. He was an American pioneer in submarine rescue for the United States Navy, and he invented the underwater escape device later called the "Momsen lung", for which he received the Distinguished Service Medal in 1929...
, employed the new Rescue Chamber
McCann Rescue Chamber
The McCann Submarine Rescue Chamber is a device for rescuing submariners from a submarine that is unable to surface.-History:During the first two decades of the United States Navy Submarine Force, there were several accidents in which Navy submarines sank with the loss of life...
he had invented years earlier but which the US Navy command had repeatedly blocked. Earlier in development of the bell, they demonstrated that a bell could attach to a submarine torpedo room hatch but the submarine crew had not decided who should transfer to the surface in the bell. One of the crew stated, within Shilling's hearing, "Take the Doc. He's the most useless piece of furniture we've got". Shilling then became the first person to go from a submarine to the surface in a bell. Utilizing these techniques, they were able to rescue all 33 surviving crew members from the sunken submarine including future Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Oliver F. Naquin
Oliver F. Naquin
Rear Admiral Oliver Francis Naquin, United States Navy was born in New Orleans, and was a 1925 graduate of the United States Naval Academy...
. Shilling later recalled that the untested submarine rescue procedures utilized with the Squalus incident "worked like a charm". Later, the salvage divers used recently developed heliox
Heliox
Heliox is a breathing gas composed of a mixture of helium and oxygen .Heliox has been used medically since the 1930s, and although the medical community adopted it initially to alleviate symptoms of upper airway obstruction, its range of medical uses has since expanded greatly, mostly because of...
diving schedules and successfully avoided the cognitive impairment symptoms associated with such deep dives
Deep diving
The meaning of the term deep diving is a form of technical diving. It is defined by the level of the diver's diver training, diving equipment, breathing gas, and surface support:...
, thereby confirming Behnke's theory of nitrogen narcosis.
In 1947, Shilling left NSMRL for a position in the Office of Naval Research
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research , headquartered in Arlington, Virginia , is the office within the United States Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S...
(ONR). Four years of this post were spent directing medical, biological, and psychological studies and ended with two years as the director of the Research Division, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery as well as the special assistant for the BioSciences. During his time at ONR, he established the Committee on Hearing and the Committee on Vision for the Armed Services National Research Council
United States National Research Council
The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...
.
Shilling's naval career ended with a post at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
were he served as the Senior Medical Officer, Command Medical Officer for the Severn River Naval Command, and the head of the Department of Hygiene at ONR.
Civilian career
Upon retirement from the Navy, Shilling served as deputy director, Division of Biology and Medicine at the United States Atomic Energy CommissionUnited States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
from 1955 to 1960. Here he managed multimillion dollar research programs.
In October 1961, Shilling was appointed to head the Biology Science Communications Project that was located at the American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Institute of Biological Sciences
The American Institute of Biological Sciences is a non-profit scientific association that is dedicated to advancing biological research and education.-Overview:...
and later moved to George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. This project was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
to study "all phases of the communications problems as they relate to the biological sciences and scientists". A major focus of this project was indexing
Index (publishing)
An index is a list of words or phrases and associated pointers to where useful material relating to that heading can be found in a document...
and abstracting
Abstract (summary)
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a...
the world serial publications
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
and ensuring their availability in the United States. One important achievement was the organization of the Council of Biological Editors
Council of Science Editors
The Council of Science Editors is a nonprofit professional membership organization. CSE's mission is to serve editorial professionals in the sciences by creating a supportive network for career development, providing educational opportunities, and developing resources for identifying and...
whose style guide provides guidelines for publications in the biological sciences.
By 1973, the Undersea Medical Society (UMS), now the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society
Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society
The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society is the primary source of information for diving and hyperbaric medicine physiology worldwide.-History:The Undersea Medical Society grew from the close associations of a small group of scientists...
, had grown to the point of needing an office and hired Shilling as the first Executive secretary. Here, Shilling applied his knowledge in diving medicine and biological communications to establish the UMS scientific journal, Undersea Biomedical Research. The journal continued under the name Undersea Biomedical Research until 1993 when it was changed to Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal.
Shilling's experience with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in the treatment of decompression sickness
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...
allowed him to connect the diving community with the growing clinical HBO community. In 1975, Shilling gathered 50 experts in HBO therapy for a workshop conceived by Dr. Behnke. The workshop was chaired by Dr. Jefferson Davis and the group eventually published the definitive text Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. The UMS also created a committee to periodically review the scientific evidence supporting the use of HBO and the first Hyperbaric Oxygen Committee Report was published in 1977. Shilling served as Executive secretary until his retirement in 1987.
Following his retirement from the UHMS, Shilling took a two year post as Distinguished scientist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology was a US government institution concerned with diagnostic consultation, education, and research in the medical specialty of pathology. It was founded in 1862 as the Army Medical Museum and was located in Washington, DC on the grounds of the Walter Reed Army...
.
Charles W. Shilling Library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
is located at the Duke University
Duke University School of Medicine
The Duke University School of Medicine is Duke University's medical school operating under the auspices of the Duke University Medical Center. Established in 1925 by James B...
Medical Center (DUMC) Library in Durham, NC. The collection consists of book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, journals
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
, reports
Technical report
A technical report is a document that describes the process, progress, or results of technical or scientific research or the state of a technical or scientific research problem. It might also include recommendations and conclusions of the research...
, workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
s, symposia
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
, conference proceedings
Proceedings
In academia, proceedings are the collection of academic papers that are published in the context of an academic conference. They are usually distributed as printed books either before the conference opens or after the conference has closed. Proceedings contain the contributions made by researchers...
, and annotated bibliographies
Annotated bibliography
An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that gives a summary of the source.The purpose of annotations is to provide the reader with a summary and an evaluation of the source. In order to writes a successful annotation, each summary must be concise...
spanning the fields of diving, hyperbaric, and marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
medicine. There is a small journal and newsletter collection dealing with diving safety and diving medicine. The library has extensive reprint files of articles, cataloged by author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, related to diving and hyperbaric medicine and dating back to the 1930s.
Many of the UHMS publications have been scanned and are available online at the Rubicon Research Repository
Rubicon Foundation
Rubicon Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization devoted to contributing to the interdependent dynamic between research, exploration, science and education. The foundation, started in 2002, is located in Durham, North Carolina and is primarily supported by donations and grants. Funding has...
. Other articles can be found in the DUMC Archive
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
finding aid
Finding aid
A finding aid is a document containing detailed information about a specific collection of papers or records within an archive. They are used by researchers to determine whether information within a collection is relevant to their research...
s.
Shilling's portrait, painted by Daniel Thompson of the Corcoran Gallery
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
and School of Art
Corcoran College of Art and Design
The Corcoran College of Art and Design, , founded in 1890, is the only professional college of art and design in Washington, DC, located in the Downtown area. The school is a private institution in association with the Corcoran Gallery of Art.The Corcoran Gallery of Art is Washington's first and...
, was dedicated October 23, 1994. It currently resides on the second floor of the DUMC Library.
Memberships and awards
Shilling was a member of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, the American Physiological SocietyAmerican Physiological Society
The American Physiological Society was founded in 1887 with 28 members. Of them, 21 were graduates of medical schools, but only 12 had studied in schools that had a professor of physiology. Today, the APS has 10,500 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology or other...
, the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, the Aerospace Medical Association
Aerospace Medical Association
The Aerospace Medical Association is the largest professional organization in the fields of aviation, space, and environmental medicine. The AsMA membership includes aerospace and hyperbaric medicine specialists, scientists, flight nurses, physiologists, and researchers from all over the world.-...
, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, and Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...
. Shilling received the Founders Medal from the Association of Military Surgeons for work in diving medicine (1953); the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Michigan (1959); the Golden Cross of the Order of the Phoenix from the Greek Government for creating a method of radiation sterilization of a fly
Fly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
, a technique which helped save the Greek olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
crop (1960); Alumnus of the Year from Taylor University (1960); the Albert Behnke Award from the UHMS (1975); the New Orleans Grand Isle (NOGI) Award from the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences (1979); the Chamber of Achievement Award from Taylor University (1980); the Florida Underwater Council Service Award (1980); the Smithsonian
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
Science Information Exchange Award (1980); the Schiffahrtmedizinsches Institut Der Marine Award (1980); and in 1982, the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society established the C.W. Shilling Award in his honor, Shilling was also the first recipient.
Death
Shilling died on December 23, 1994 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He is buried in Arlington National CemeteryArlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
with his wife Miriam.
External links
- Select publications from the Rubicon Research RepositoryRubicon FoundationRubicon Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization devoted to contributing to the interdependent dynamic between research, exploration, science and education. The foundation, started in 2002, is located in Durham, North Carolina and is primarily supported by donations and grants. Funding has...