1991 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Benjamin Abeles and George Cody - Exxon Research and Engineering, Annandale
The Voyager space probes have been described as "an epic journey to the four giant gas planets of our solar system." The invention that made the Voyager mission possible, the silicon-germanium thermoelectric power generator, was developed in the 1960s by Benjamin Abeles and George Cody at the David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton. While studying the high temperature properties of semiconductors the pair discovered unexpectedly low thermal conductivity in silicon-germanium alloys. By doping the alloys with impurities, they further lowered the thermal conductivity and optimized the electrical properties needed to efficiently convert heat to electricity at high temperatures. This discovery led to the development of a reliable and long-lived source of energy, perfect for deep space probes which cannot use solar panels to collect energy. In 1980, the Franklin Institute presented the prestigious Stuart Ballentine Medal for advancing communications using thermomagnetic radiation to the researchers.
Carlyle Caldwell - National Starch and Chemical Company, Bridgewate
Carlyle Caldwell's research into the chemistry of starches resulted in processes for the manufacture of the first commercially useful starch derivatives. By discovering how to modify the native starch molecules and alter the properties of the starch granule to provide a product which would function effectively and economically as a thickener, he laid the foundation for the use of starch in modern-day paper, textile and food industries. His subsequent work, incorporating cationic and/or anionic groups onto the starch molecule, significantly advanced the entire starch industry. Caldwell is the holder of three individual patents and is a co-inventor of 11 other patents.
Gordon W. Calundann - Hoechst Celanese CorpORATION, Short Hills
A pioneer and researcher in the emerging technology of high performance liquid crystalline polymers, Gordon Calundann developed a group of related inventions describing a family of wholly aromatic, thermotropic polyesters designed for use in high performance molded parts, fiber and film applications. Since 1985, these materials have found application in a broad and growing range of industries-electrical/electronic, automotive, industrial, textile and defense/aerospace. Marketed by Hoechst Celanese Corp as VECTRA, sales are expected to reach well over $100 million per year by the year 2000. Calundann is the holder of more than 35 U.S. patents.
Reed Funk - Rutgers, The State University, New BrunswicK
The results of C. Reed Funk's work can be found from urban lawns to the White House and from Arlington National Cemetery to the Rose Bowl. He is the world-wide leading authority in turf grass breeding. His more than 75 variety releases including eight U.S. Plant Patents for Kentucky Bluegrass varieties, nearly 60 Plant Protection certificates (USDA patent-like protection for sexually reproduced plants) and numerous plant registrations. C. Reed Funk's development intraspecific hybrids of Kentucky Bluegrass led to the development of varieties which are resistant to devastating Bluegrass diseases such as striped smut, leaf rust, crown rot and powdery mildew. Other research led to the breeding of fescues and rye grasses which possess greater resistance to insect, disease and drought, better plant vigor, and wider adaptability to growing conditions. He was the recipient of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture's Distinguished Service Award for Scientific Research, the nation's most prestigious award in agricultural research.
Anthony D. Kurtz - Kulite Semiconductor Products, LeoniA
Anthony Kurtz and his company, Kulite Semiconductor Products, are known throughout the world for the production and innovation of piezoresistive semiconductor transducers. He holds more than 50 patents relating to the structure and processing of transducers including accelerometers, pressure sensors and so on. These products have won numerous industrial awards. His development of a "smart" transducer was one of the first disclosures using a microprocessor to automatically compensate for offset errors in a semiconductor transducer.
Jerome Murray - Murray United Development CorpORATION, LandinG
The holder of more than 50 patents, Murray inventions include magnetic mixer, electric carving knife, pressure cooker, TV antenna rotator, power steering mechanism, and the marine generator. His work on the Rotocam engine, an internal combustion engine utilizing piston and cylinder assembly found in traditional automobile engines, but 59 percent fewer parts by eliminating the crankshaft, camshaft, valve train, flywheel, and distributor, continued up until his death in 1998.
John H. Sinfelt - Exxon Research & Engineering Co., AnnadalE
John Sinfelt's development of bimetallic catalysts has had major impact on the commercial reforming of petroleum naphtha fractions to produce high-octane components for gasolines. He was instrumental in the development of KX-130, Exxon's proprietary and highly active reforming catalyst, which enables refiners to reduce the amount of catalyst needed in reforming—the principal refinery process for making high octane components required to make gasoline. The improved activity and selectivity shown by bimetallic reforming catalyst were instrumental in the emergence of low-lead and lead-free gasolines during the 1970s and 1980s. The 1980 recipient of the President's National Medal of Science, John Sinfelt is the author of more than 80 technical papers and the holder of 42 U.S. patents.
Paul K. Weimer and Albert Rose - David Sarnoff Research Center, PrincetoN
The Orthicon television camera tube, exhibited by RCA during its introduction of television at the 1939 New York World's Fair, was the production of collaboration between the late Albert Rose, Paul K. Weimer and Harold B. Law. In 1942, the trio developed the Image Orthicon tube which was used by the military for guided missiles during World War II and later became the principal camera tube for television broadcasts throughout the world for 25 years.
Paul Weimer is internationally recognized as an authority in the field of solid state and thin film devices for television image sensor applications. He is the holder of 88 U.S. patents and has published more than 50 articles on television pick up tubes, thin film devices, and solid state image sensors. He was the recipient of the International Congress of Photographic Science's "Kulturepreis 1986," cited as a "pioneer in electronic photography."
Widely considered the "father of electronic imaging," the late Albert Rose was granted 40 U.S. patents and published more than 50 technical papers. The Institute for Graphic Communications created the Albert Rose Electronic Imager of the Year Award in his honor.
Paul Weimer is internationally recognized as an authority in the field of solid state and thin film devices for television image sensor applications. He is the holder of 88 U.S. patents and has published more than 50 articles on television pick up tubes, thin film devices, and solid state image sensors. He was the recipient of the International Congress of Photographic Science's "Kulturepreis 1986," cited as a "pioneer in electronic photography."
Widely considered the "father of electronic imaging," the late Albert Rose was granted 40 U.S. patents and published more than 50 technical papers. The Institute for Graphic Communications created the Albert Rose Electronic Imager of the Year Award in his honor.
Karl G. Jansky - AT&T Bell Laboratories, LivingstoN
While working on a project to track down the high-frequency static and noises that plagued transatlantic telephone service in the 1920s, Karl Jansky made basic discoveries which lead to the development of radio astronomy. Using an antenna, he identified the sources of two types of static: lightning in nearby thunderstorms and lightning from distant storms, whose radio emissions may have been reflected back to earth by ionized layers of the upper atmosphere. The third type, which was quite different, was later identified as radio waves from outer space. Jansky announced his discovery at a meeting of International Scientific Radio Union in 1938. Thus was born the science of radio astronomy.
INVENTOR OF THE YEAR
William Charney
Charles Covino
Jack R. Hartford
Frederick M. Kahan
Gregory H. Olsten
Joseph F. Rizzo
David Savage, Guido Sartori & Winston S. Ho
Stanley S. Schodowski
Joseph V. Milo, P.E.
Charles Covino
Jack R. Hartford
Frederick M. Kahan
Gregory H. Olsten
Joseph F. Rizzo
David Savage, Guido Sartori & Winston S. Ho
Stanley S. Schodowski
Joseph V. Milo, P.E.
CORPORATE AWARD
David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton
The David Sarnoff Research Center is one of the premier electronics research institutions in the world and has fostered many research developments during its nearly 50 years in New Jersey. Probably the most well known of these is color television. The all-electronic compatible color television system, which has been the NTSC standard for approximately 40 years, was conceived and developed at the Sarnoff Center. Because of its strong position in consumer electronics, Sarnoff's strengths in other technologies are sometimes overlooked. One notable electronics achievement is liquid crystal technology, familiar to many consumers in watches and other digital displays. Another is Sarnoff's work in MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistors in the 1960s, which was the basis of CMOS technology, one of the mainstays of the integrated circuit industry. Sarnoff also has an impressive list of pioneering achievements ranging from its work in superconductivity to gallium aresenide and silicon technologies to dole lasers. Formerly RCA Laboratories, the David Sarnoff Research Center is an independent contract research facility and a subsidiary of SRI International. Sarnoff Center patent disclosures continue at a rate of nearly one per technical staff member per year.