Career After NASA
After returning to Earth, Van den Berg continued to work on crystal growth experiments at EG&G in California and he became the head for the section of materials science. At a later time he moved to Florida to become a chief scientist at the Constellation Technology Corporation. At age 72, he continued to work up to 40 hours a week and grow crystals, a process he compares to gardening. The crystals he grows (Mercuric Iodide crystals) are used to make precision detectors for nuclear radiation. These detectors are used in medical applications, by the defense industry and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He visits the Netherlands every two years, and was the subject of a short 2004 documentary by Netwerk called: The `forgotten astronaut`.
Read more about this topic: Lodewijk Van Den Berg
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