Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange

Alvin L. Young (b. 1942), a specialist in herbicide physiology, completed degrees in crop science, and crop physiology and biochemistry at the University of Wyoming. In 1968, he earned his Ph.D. in agronomy from Kansas State University. That same year, he began his 21-year career with the U.S. Air Force, where he achieved the rank of colonel. From 1971 to 1977, he taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and conducted studies on the biodegradation of surplus Agent Orange. From 1978 until his retirement in 2002, he served as a scientific advisor or consultant to several United States federal agencies, the National Academies of Science, and the Italian and Australian governments. His areas of expertise include the ecological impact and toxicity of the herbicides used in the Vietnam War; the environmental fate and toxicology of TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin); and science policy, risk assessment, and risk management applied to environmental issues.