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. Becker was known for his work in bioelectricity and leading the early opposition to high-voltage power lines. He has been named as one of the most influential figures in the area of anti-EMF activism. Early life. Becker was born May 31, 1923, in River Edge , New Jersey to Otto Julius Becker and Elizabeth Blanck. 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. Becker was an intern at New York's Bellevue Hospital, then completed a residency Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover, New Hampshire. Serving in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946, during World War II. Becker also served from 1951 to 1953 in the United States Army Medical Corps. On September 14, 1946, Becker married Lillian Janet Moller in New Canaan, Connecticut. They resided in  New York City and Valley Stream, New York before settling in Syracuse in the late 1950s. There, Becker joined the SUNY Upstate Medical Center. Research. Becker has been credited with furthering the awareness of the scientific community to the study of electric potentials in organisms. His work showed that living organisms and animals show a direct current of electric charge which is measurable from their body surface. In the 1960s Becker's research also showed that living bone can piezoelectrically generate electric potentials, which led to work on using electricity in the treatment of ununited fractures. Ultimately, however, the effectiveness  of electrotherapy for increasing bone healing is uncertain, due to a lack of sufficient evidence. Becker believed that extrasensory perception could occur from extremely low frequency (ELF) waves. Awards. In 1964, Becker received the William S. Middleton Award from the research and development agency of the United States Veterans Health Administration. 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". Later life. In the years prior to his death, Becker lived in Lowville, New York. He died in  Lowville's Lewis County General Hospital due to complications of pneumonia on May 14, 2008. Published works. Books As publisher 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