The idea of making a neoprene suit came to Bradner in 1951 while at the University of California in Berkeley, working on diving equipment for US Navy divers. The penny dropped with the recognition that you do not have to remain dry in order to stay warm.
Experiments with neoprene duly confirmed that it was possible to trap water or at least greatly slow down its flow over the body, and, using the further insulating property of the material, warm the water to or close to body temperature.
According to his daughter Cornet, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Bradner 'developed this in the basement of our house on Scenic Avenue in Berkeley' and, in 1952, Bradner and some colleagues created a small company and launched a retail model, the EDCO Sub-Mariner.
According to his daughter, Bradner did not, however, patent the suit, and his venture folded to be replaced by the steady growth of large-scale wetsuit manufacturers.
A physicist by profession, Bradner was both practitioner and teacher. He taught physics at UC Berkeley and worked on high-energy physics at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Early work included involvement in WWII's secret Manhatten Project, developing triggering mechanisms for the atomic bomb.
A keen diver with a strong interest in oceanography, Bradner went to work at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego in 1960, where his varied work included practical experiments on scuba designs.
Bradner retired from Scripps in 1980, as a professor emeritus. For many years he continued to enjoy scuba diving. He died at his home in San Diego on May 5, from the effects of pneumonia. He is survived by his daughter, three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
A memorial celebration of the lives of Bradner and his wife, Marjorie, takes place on May 25 at the UC San Diego Faculty Club. |
