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Andrew Riley was always shy about his involvement in the tumult called cold fusion. A careful scientist, he was reluctant to make any bold claims for fear it would harm his career.
Mr. Riley, who worked at the University of Utah from 1987 until last year, was killed instantly when a cold-fusion-type cell exploded in his face at SRI International, a research laboratory in Menlo Park, Calif. Three other scientists were injured.
``He was a fantastic guy to work with, a very energetic, dynamic person,'' said Sivar Guruswamy, a U. professor who worked with Mr. Riley, 34. ``It's shocking.''
David W. Pershing, dean of the U. College of Engineering, said Mr. Riley was was a key member of his cold-fusion team at the U.'s National Cold Fusion Institute, but he avoided the television cameras and other attention that engulfed cold fusion.
``He was skeptical,'' said Mr. Pershing. ``He was appropriately guarded about claims regarding that work.''
Mr. Pershing said Mr. Riley was equally cautious in the lab. ``In our experience, he was a very careful experimentalist. He was not one given to taking chances.''
Mr. Pershing said Mr. Riley, a native of Ipswich, England, who received his doctorate in material sciences at Oxford University, was an active outdoorsman who loved the recreation Utah offered. ``He was not only an enthusiastic young scientist, he was a wonderful individual.''
Mr. Riley married his wife, Beth, a U. nursing student, while in Utah.
``He was an extremely brilliant, innovative guy,'' said former U. College of Mines Dean Milton Wadsworth, who hired Mr. Riley after the fusion institute began closing.
``I was sorry to lose him, but they made him a good offer,'' Mr. Wadsworth said. ``He was so excited with what Mike McKubre was doing.''
Mr. McKubre, 43, and another researcher, Stuart Smedley, 48, were treated for cuts at a hospital and released. A fourth researcher, Steven Crouch-Baker, was treated for minor cuts at the scene.
According to San Mateo County Chief Deputy Coronor Steve Hortin, Mr. Riley died of ``massive head injuries. . . . He was standing over it [the electrochemical cell]. When it exploded, the main force went up.''
There was no indication the explosion involved nuclear energy.
Cold-fusion experiments involve the separation of water into oxygen and explosive hydrogen, and those who have conducted them say they can be volatile.
Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, the two chemists whose 1989 fusion announcement set off a frenetic race to duplicate the work, never had an explosion, Mr. Fleischmann said Friday in a telephone interview from England.
He said they did have one metal electrode get hot enough to melt early on in their U. experiments.
``It was something that interested us and made us particularly cautious,'' Mr. Fleischmann said. ``There have been several reports of samples of metal that got hot, but that's not a sufficient reason for expecting an explosion. We had no problems after that.''
``We are all deeply saddened to hear this news,'' added Mr. Pons, reached at his home in France. He said he and Mr. Fleischmann regularly drew attention to the possible hazards associated with the research. ``In every seminar and in our papers, we have tried to make people aware of the dangers involved in this line of research.''
Haven Bergeson, a U. physics professor who also worked at the fusion institute, said he saw some ``teeny pops where the plug would pop out,'' but never any explosions. Several U. researchers said it was their understanding that the SRI work, unlike that done in Utah, involved high-pressure electrochemical cells, where the potential for explosion would be greater.
Charles Fasso, Menlo Park Fire Department, said all cold fusion work at SRI has been suspended pending an investigation. Despite the death and injuries, little damage resulted, Mr. Fasso said.