Raymond Rogers

Raymond N. Rogers (1927-2005) was an American chemist who was considered a leading expert in thermal analysis. To the general public, however, he was best known for his work on the Shroud of Turin.

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Biography

Rogers was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the University of Arizona he studied chemistry receiving a BS in 1950. From 1951 to 1988 he was an explosives reaearch expert and thermal analyst with the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. From 1987 until [1992] he served on the Department of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board with the equivalent rank of Lt. General, and received a Distinguished Service Award. He received other awards and recognitions from LANL and many professional organizations. He was granted a sabbatical in 1968 to pursue post-graduate studies in archaeology.

During his career Rogers published over forty peer-reviewed papers on chemistry. In 1981 he as nameed Laboratory Fellow, University of California, Los Alamos National Laboratory. Other honors included being named a Tour Speaker for the American Chemical Society in 1971, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Distinguished Performance Award in 1984 and the Department of the Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal in 1991. He also served as the editor for Energetic Materials, a peer-reviewed scientific journal from 1983-1988.

Rogers died of cancer at his home in Los Alamos. He was survived by his wife, the former Joan Rogers.

Shroud of Turin

He was appointed Director of Chemical Research for the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) in 1978, applying thermal methods to the study of this relic. In recent years, he further researched material relevant to the dating of the Shroud, publishing his findings in Thermochimica Acta.

In 1978, the team of scientists conducted their testing over five days in Turin, Italy.

Until Rogers' death in 2005, he continued to study the shroud on and explain the studies he had undertaken. He participated in ongoing disussions with the Shroud Science Group; a group of about 100 scientists, historians and archeologist who continue to study the Shroud of Turin.