Rudolf Henning, Electrical Engineering Professor Emeritus of the University of South Florida (USF), Past President of the MTT-S and twice chairman of the International Microwave Symposium, passed away on July 9, 2013 at the age of 89,. During his lifetime he has set the standard for accomplishments and received more than 25 achievement awards.
Dr. Henning was born in Hamburg, Germany, and received his BS, MS and D.of Eng Sci in electrical engineering from Columbia University, where he was also a cellist in the university orchestra. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1944-46. During his graduate studies he received a Sperry Gyroscope Fellowship. After Columbia University, he became the engineering section head for the Sperry Gyroscope Co. in New York. He was also a member of Tau Beta Pi and the Society of Sigma Xi. In 1958, he joined the Sperry Microwave Electronics Division of the Sperry Rand Corporation in Clearwater where he was Chief Engineer.
A Fellow of the IEEE, Dr. Henning received many awards during his career, including the IEEE Centennial Medal, USF President’s Affirmative Action Award, and MTT-S-ARFTG Automated Measurements Career Award. He won the 1986 Florida West Coast Engineer of the Year, MTT- S Distinguished Service Award in 1996 and most recently in 2008 he received the IEEE Microwave Career Award from the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society. His additional contributions to the MTT-S were as President in 1968 and twice served as the IMS Chair in 1965 and 1979.
Professor Henning PE, was a Distinguished University Professor at USF, an acting chair of the Electrical Engineering Dept. and also served as Associate Dean of the college from 1972-1982. Prior to USF, he headed up the Engineering Sciences Dept. at the Naval Electronics Laboratory Center in San Diego. He was a mentor to many students, faculty, and young engineers throughout his long industry and academic careers. He authored or co-authored more than 20 refereed papers and more than 50 conference presentations. Details of his activities and achievements are a book in themselves.
In 2009, the IEEE Florida West Coast Section established the Rudolf Henning Mentoring Award given each year at the IEEE WAMICON conference in recognition of his extraordinary commitment to Mentoring activities. In fact, his Mentoring reach extended down to junior high and high school minority students through the highly successful YES WE CARE outreach program which he initiated in 1983 and directed through 1998. For this program he received a highly prestigious Presidential Recognition Award from the National Science Foundation.
Rudy loved to grow orchids, and was very active in the Clearwater Community Concert Association and the Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church in Clearwater. He is survived by his wife Petey and his daughter Patricia.
Major contributions by Thomas Weller, Larry Dunleavy, and Janet Gillis, College of Engineering Edited by Jerry Hausner
Arthur Oliner, professor emeritus, laureate and MTT-S AdCom Honorary Life Member, passed away at the age of 92 on Sept. 9, 2013. Art Oliner was well known and highly regarded in the MTT community and beyond.His lifewas one of exceptional accomplishments and substantial impact on the progress of microwave technology. His primary focus was in defining and furthering understanding of electomagnetics. He was one of the principal leaders in the development of the theory and the applications of microwaves that occurred soon after WWII. Most of his work was centered at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, now called Polytechnic University. From that base, he influenced researchers at many universities throughout the world and contributed to untold projects aimed at applying microwave theory and techniques. His major collaborations outside the United States were in Italy and Japan.
Art Oliner earned his B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1941 and his Ph.D at Cornell University in 1946, both in Physics. He then accepted a position at Brooklyn Polytech in order to stay close to family. His responsibilities and accomplishments grew from there. He originally planned on transferring toMIT but the appearance of NathanMarcuvitz at Poly persuaded him to remain there. He stayed at Brooklyn Polytech for the next 40 years, until his retirement. As a result of working on his early research projects Marcuvitz became his mentor and shaped his thinking process, allowing him to research and develop many new concepts in electromagnetics. Throughout his academic career Art repeatedly cultivated students into colleagues. Together with his assembly of dedicated colleagues, he advanced the understanding of the interaction between plasmas and EM fields and radiation. This lead to his contributions in the design of various antennas. In addition his explanation of leakywaves improved the understanding and performance of microwave integrated circuits. A summary of his academic career is that he joined the Microwave Research Institute of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, NY, in 1946, and was made Professor in 1957. From 1966 to 1971, he was Head of the Electro-physics Department; he then became Head of the combined Department of Electrical Engineering and Electro-physics from1971 through 1974.Hewas also the Director of the Microwave Research Institute from 1967 to 1981. During the summer of 1964, he was a Walker-Ames Visiting Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, and during the 1965-1966 academic year, he was on a sabbatical leave at the Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, France, under a Guggenheim Fellowship. During the summer of 1973, he was a Visiting Professor at the Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; in the spring of 1978, he was a Visiting Research Scholar at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan; in the spring of 1980 he was a Visiting Professor at the Huazhong (Central China) Institute of Technology, Wuhan, China; and in the fall of 1982 he was a Visiting Professor at the "La Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Art Oliner provided extensive service to theMicrowave Theory and Techniques Society by way of becoming an AdCom member in 1956, vice-chairman in 1958 and then Chairman in 1959. He was also re-elected toAdComin 1959. In 1967 he was the first to be appointed National Lecturer; which evolved into the current DMLs. He received many notable awards including the Microwave Prize in 1966, theMicrowave CareerAward in 1982, and the firstDistinguished EducatorAward in 1993.
Art collaborated with researchers worldwide but had a particular affinity for working with colleagues at La SapienzaUniversity at Rome, Italy. This work was so appreciated that in September 2003 they bestowed their highest honor on him; the "laurea" degree "honoris causa" in electronic engineering for "outstanding pioneering contributions to the theory of guidance and radiation of electromagnetic waves."He also had a great influence on research carried on atDoshishaUniversity inKyoto, Japan. Dr. Oliner's research has covered a wide variety of topics in the microwave field, including network representations of microwave structures, precision measurement methods, guided-wave theorywith emphasis on surface waves and leaky waves, traveling-wave antennas, plasmas, periodic structure theory, and phased arrays. His interests have also included waveguides for surface acoustic waves and integrated optics and, more recently, novel leaky-wave antennas for millimeter waves and leakage effects in millimeter-wave integrated circuits.
As a result of his far reaching contributions he was awarded an unending list of accolades. He is the author of more than 180 papers and the coauthor or coeditor of three books. He served on the Editorial Boards of the journal Electronics Letters (published by the British IEEE) and the volume series Advances in Microwaves (Academic Press). He is also a former Chairman of a National Academyof SciencesAdvisory Panel to theNational Bureau of Standards (nowNIST).He has been a consultant to industry since 1952, for IBM, Raytheon, Boeing, Hughes, AIL, Kaiser Aluminum, Rockwell,MIT Lincoln Lab., CBS Labs., etc.Hewas a founder ofMerrimac Industries and has been on its Board of Directors from 1962 until 2010; when Merrimac was bought by Crane Aerospace.
Art Oliner's role as an educator should not be overlooked. Not only was he a world renowned scientist; many of his students also went on to become world renowned. His students have commented on his ability to get to the heart of a problem and create simple models, patience, attention to detail, dedication and skill at unique analogies to help students remember lessons. By the time he retired he had educated a vast number amount of students and graduated many Ph.D.s. He was very well liked around the world and will be missed by a myriad of proteges. Art cherished family. His wife, Frieda, of 67 years passed away March 13, 2013. He is survived by his 2 children, 3 grandchildren and one great grandchild..Hiswork allowed himto travel extensively and resulted in his collection of Asian art.
Early pioneer in remote microwave sensing of the earth / Philanthropist
Kiyo Tomiyasu, IEEE Life Fellow Member, IEEE MTTS Honorary Life Member and IEEE GRSS Honorary Life Member passed away at the age of 96 on 9 December 2015 in Pomona, California, USA.
Kiyo received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineerng from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, in 1940 and his M.S. degree in Communication Engineering from Columbia University, New York, NY, in 1941. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Engineering Science and Applied Physics from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1948.
During his long active career, Kiyo contributed to developments on ferrites, microwave components, spectroscopy, lasers, radiometers, microwave remote sensing of the earth using satellite-borne radiometers, scatterometers and synthetic aperture radars. This including leading roles in the NASA/JSC Skylab S-193 Microwave Radiometer Scatterometer Altimeter and NASA Langley Research Center AAFE RADSCAT sensor. Kiyo’s 1956 patent entitled “Serrated choke system for electromagnetic waveguide” (assigned to the Sperry Rand Corporation) was instrumental in the invention of the microwave oven door seal some three decades later, still used to protect people today. He initially joined Sperry Gyroscope Company in 1949 and transferred to General Electric Company in 1955. With GE, he was in Palo Alto, California; Schenectady, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After corporate mergers, he was employed by Lockheed Martin Company and retired in 2005.
At the IEEE level, he was a Director (1985-86) and served on many IEEE Boards, including the Board of Directors, Awards Board, Technical Activities Board, Publications Board, and Educational Activities Board.
In 1955 Kiyo joined the Administrative Committee (AdCom) of IEEE PGMTT (now Microwaves Theory and Techniques Society – MTT-S). He served as MTT-S President in 1960-61 and Editor of Transactions on Microwaves Theory and Techniques in 1958-59. In 1973 he was elected as an Honorary Life Member of MTT-S and continued to be active with the MTT-S AdCom until shortly before his passing.
His involvement with the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) began in 1980, when GRSS was formed as a reorganization of the Group on Geoscience Electronics. Kiyo served as the first GRSS Awards Chair. He became an Honorary Life Member of the GRSS and its Administrative Committee (AdCom) in 1999 and continued to be active with the GRSS AdCom until shortly before his passing.
Kiyo helped to establish two IEEE Foundation Funds that support students: the Harold Sobol Student Grant, administered by the IEEE MTT Society; and the Mikio Takagi Student Prize, administered by the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society. He initiated the IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award, an IEEE Technical Field Award that recognizes early-to-mid-career contributions to technologies that show the promise of innovative applications. He was inducted by the IEEE Foundation into the IEEE Heritage Circle at the Thomas Alva Edison level of giving. Dr. and Mrs. Tomiyasu also created the Eiko and Kiyo Tomiyasu Endowed Professorship at California Institute of Technology.
Kiyo became a Fellow of the IEEE in 1962 – “For contributions to microwave theory.” He received the IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984 and the Third Millennium Medal in 2000. In 1977 he was a recipient of the General Electric Company’s Charles Proteus Steinmetz Award for outstanding individual achievement over a sustained period as evidenced by impact on the company and society.
Kiyo was a wonderful mentor to several generations of currently active MTT-S and GRSS AdCom members. His gentle manner of teaching and his quiet leadership will always be remembered by those lucky enough to have been his IEEE “students”.
John R. Tucker, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) Microwave Pioneer Award winner, passed away at the age of 70 on 12 April 2014 at his home in Champaign, IL. Prof. Tucker's citation for the 2002 MTT-S Microwave Pioneer Award reads: "For generalizing microwave mixer theory to include photon-assisted tunneling and discovering new effects leading to quantum-noise-limited millimeter wave receivers." This theory is best known as the Tucker Quantum-Mixer Theory. In 2002, he was also named a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
Born in Seattle, he received his B.S. in physics in 1966 from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in physics in 1972 from Harvard University with a Ph.D. thesis titled, "The Resistive Transition in One-Dimensional Superconductors." During his last year at Harvard, he served as a resident visitor and consultant in the theoretical physics group at Bell Telephone Laboratories. He completed his postdoctoral research with Leo Kadanoff at Brown University.
Prof. Tucker began his work on microwave photon-assisted tunneling as a research scientist at the Aerospace Corporation in 1974. At that time 'Super-Schottky' diodes were being used to set new records for detector sensitivity at temperatures of 1 K. It was questioned if this device could be improved indefinitely at lower temperature and Prof. Tucker demonstrated that the current responsively would approach a fundamental limit as the I-V nonlinearity became sharp on the scale of the quantum energy. He subsequently developed a complete quantum mixer theory. The new phenomena predicted by his theory permitted noiseless amplification of incoming signals during heterodyne down-conversion, a process that was previously thought impossible for resistive mixers. The experiments of other researcher on superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel junctions confirmed the noiseless amplification in heterodyne down-conversion and also demonstrated important aspects of the theory and SIS receivers.
The quantum mixer theory revolutionized millimeter and submillimeter astronomy through development of SIS tunnel junction receivers operating at or near the fundamental limit for sensitivity set by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. SIS receivers of this type are currently installed on all major (sub)millimeter astronomical telescopes. Two key examples are the Altacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, which started operation in March 2013 as one of the world's largest scientific instruments, and the operation of a suite of submillimeter SIS receivers in space for the first time as a part of the Herschel Space Telescope, launched in 2009 by the European Space Agency.
Prof. Tucker joined the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UIUC in 1981, recruited by Professor John Bardeen, the two-time Nobel Prize winner who worked at the same nexus of theoretical physics and circuit development as John Tucker. In fact, it is Bardeen's theory of superconductivity—recognized by Bardeen's second Nobel Prize—which underlies the Tucker Quantum-Mixer Theory. Tucker and Bardeen worked together for a number of years investigating the phenomenon of sliding charge density waves in quasi-one-dimensional materials, considering both classical and quantum-mechanical electronic transport mechanisms.
Starting in 1989, Prof. Tucker's work focused on new nanoelectric architectures in silicon. He collaborated with Dr. T.-C. Shen on ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (STM) research. This work centered on developing a fabrication process for atom-scale electronic devices in silicon. The STM's low-energy electron beam was used to expose bare dangling bonds. Molecules could then be selectively absorbed onto these STM-exposed patterns to realize conducting pathways based on overlap of individual electron wavefunctions. This process of creating silicon nanoelectronics with atom-scale donor patterns became the focus of efforts to build a silicon-based quantum computer.
In a related research area, Prof. Tucker proposed a new metal silicide source/drain MOS transistor in 1994 that operated by gate-induced (field emission) tunneling and permitted scaling to sub-25nm gate length without impurity doping or non-planar architecture. A new high-frequency world record for an MOS transistor was established in 2004 with p-type silicide source/drain devices of this type fabricated by MIT Lincoln Laboratory. These devices remain among the smallest MOS transistors in overall dimension, and potentially the fastest CMOS technology.
Prof. Tucker was an NRC Senior Fellow at the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York in 1980, and a Visiting Professor at Technical University of Delft in 1999. He was a member of the Review Panel of Laboratory Directed Research and Development Programs at Los Alamos National Laboratory in May 2001 and 2002. He was Chairman of the NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory MicroDevices Laboratory Visiting Committee starting in 2008.
He is survived by his wife, Mary (Greiner), his son, Ross Tucker of Springfield, IL, and his daughter and son-in-law, Laura (Joel) Furrer of Urbana, IL.
http://www.ece.illinois.edu/mediacenter/article.asp?id=8443
Principal contribution to this article by Greg Lyons. Edited by John Barr.
Daniel J. Masse´, 85, electrical engineer, microwave device experimentalist, laboratory manager, and active MTT member, died on January 10, 2015 following a prolonged illness.
Born in Provins, France, Dan graduated from Ecole Centrale de TSF in Paris in 1951, with his Diploma in Electrical Engineering. He began his career in microwave communication with Compagnie Générale de Télégraphie Sans Fil (CSF). In 1957, he left France for a position in the Ferrites Group of the Research Division of Raytheon Company in Waltham, Massachusetts. Soon after, through rapid growth, this entire group moved to a new facility and became a product development operation under separate management.
Several years later, Dan returned to the Research Division and joined the semiconductor group. It was with this group that he first exhibited his unique abilities as a first-class microwave measurements engineer, beginning with the discovery and characterization of surface waves on microstrip lines deposited on high-K dielectric and semiconductor substrates, and the measurement of losses along such transmission media. His precise measurement of attenuation losses led to a new, and more accurate formulation, which, following publication in the MTT Transactions, was soon after incorporated into contemporary commercial computer-aided design software.
As part of the high-K dielectric studies, Dan was responsible for the construction and characterization of miniature dielectric cavities (resonators) and their application to high-Q microwave band-pass filters. Several technical papers were co-published in this 1972 pioneering study. When this study was extended to magnetic (ferrite) substrates, his precise measurements confirmed a newly developed theoretical formulation of microstrip propagation on such substrates, which led to two companion technical publications in 1972.
Dan's expertise was not confined to passive devices. It also was applied to the evolving field of field-effect transistors (FETS), their microwave characterization and modeling, with emphasis on applications. One such application was the GaAs FET mixer, which led to a shared MTT-S Microwave Prize cited for the best publication in the MTT Transactions in 1976. (Dan was the author or-co-author of more than 25 papers and a book chapter.)
Several years later Dan's measurement capabilities were extended to the characterization of avalanche diodes in the IMPATT program of the Research Division. This program, a major effort in the division with immediate application to military needs, and the companion FET/MMIC program grew rapidly in the early 1980's. In 1983 Dan was asked to assume full management of the IMPATT effort including its marketing responsibility. This was new to Dan, and with some trepidation he accepted. Under his guidance and tutelage, the IMPATT program was soon recognized as the best in the nation, demonstrating that Dan was not only a very capable microwave engineer, but also an effective manager.
By 1989, his technical and managerial experience having been established, he was promoted to management of both the IMPATT and FET/MMIC programs which comprised the entire Semiconductor Lab in the Research Division. He served it well until his retirement in 1993.
Following his retirement from Raytheon he worked for several years as an Associate Editor on the Microwave Journal.
Complementing his technical career, Dan gave freely of his time and talents to the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society. He served on the International Microwave Symposium Technical Program Committee from 1989 to 1995 and was its co-chairman in 1991. He was a member of the Military Microwave Conference Technical Committee in London in 1990 and 1992. Dan also chaired the IEEE Standards Committee for Definition of Terms for Planar Transmission Lines from 1983 to 1987. In addition, he was a member of the MTT Transactions Editorial Board from 1968 to 1992, and the Editor in Chief of the Transactions from 1992 to 1995.
Dan's many contributions to the Society were recognized when he was granted the MTT-S N. Walter Cox Award (1999) "For Exemplary Service, Given in a Spirit of Selfless Dedication and Cooperation".
This generous nature of Dan was demonstrated again and again in retirement, when he gave of his time serving meals to the homeless in the Pine Street Inn in Boston, and through a program sponsored by Northeastern University in Boston, helping teachers teach science to children.
Needless to say, Dan was a family man, a loving and caring husband to his lovely wife, Thelma, and devoted father to his daughters, Diana and Dominique.
On a personal note, Dan and I were collaborating colleagues and were close friends for over a half-century. He was a gentle man and a gentleman. It was an honor for me to write this memoriam.
Robert A. Pucel, ScD
Nathan (Nat) Sokal, a true pioneer in microwave technology, died at his home on May 8, 2016 in Newton, MA at the age of 87. His career began in 1950 when he graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT) with a BS and MS in electrical engineering. During his Junior and Senior years, he spent alternate semesters at MIT and at Philco Corp., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he worked on industrial projects. Then he became an MIT Staff Member and an Air Force Lieutenant from 1954 to 1956. Afterwards, he worked as an electronic engineer at MIT Lincoln Labs including supervisory positions for design, manufacture, and applications of analog and digital equipment: and in 1965 he founded his own consulting company, Design Automation, Inc. and was President since the founding. Sokal is best known for inventing the Class E high efficiency power amplifier in the early 1970s, which contributed to the development of cell phones, broadcast transmitters, and RF heating.
During his early years he functioned as a design engineer and supervisor for industrial, consumer and military electronics. This work was very diverse and included radar devices and systems, low noise amplifiers, control devices, etc. It spanned the range of components, to systems, to field installations.
After 1965 his work under the banner of Design Automation, became even more diverse. His company is an electronics consulting company doing product design, design review and needed redesign, and technology development; without doing any manufacturing. This work was performed for equipment manufacturers, government agencies, and technical consulting attorneys. Much of that work was related to high-efficiency switching-mode power conversion and power amplification, at frequencies from dc to 2.5 GHz. Sokal holds eight patents in power electronics, including the Class-E switching-mode high-efficiency RF power amplifier. He also invented a high-efficiency linear RF power amplifier using Envelope Elimination and Restoration. In this device all power handling is accomplished in the high-efficiency switching mode.
He was an author or co-author of one book and about 130 technical papers, mostly in high-efficiency generation of RF power and dc power. In 1989, Mr. Sokal was elected a Fellow of the IEEE for his contributions to the technology of high-efficiency power conversion and RF power amplification. He has reviewed submitted manuscripts for twelve IEEE publications and conferences and was a Technical Adviser to the American Radio Relay League, in the area of RF power amplification and dc power conversion. Also was a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Sigma Xi, and The Electromagnetics Academy honorary professional societies. Additionally, he gave pro-bono technical suggestions to graduate and undergraduate students, and advised them on their theses. This included serving on the committee judging a student’s successful thesis defense at the University Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil. He was also a long time participant in the Boston Consultant Network since 1990 (26 years) and gave many workshops at IEEE MTTS International Microwave Symposium (IMS) and they were always filled to capacity or overflowing.
Sokal’s work and publications are so extensive that it is impossible to mention all the areas he worked in here and is partially revealed in the publications that he has either authored or co-authored. A small example of the range of his activities was the design of a major portions of other core memories and special-purpose magnetic computing and data-processing equipment; and then during his last year at Di/An Controls he was also the Technical Sales Manager, responsible for customer technical contacts, application engineering, and preparation of product specifications and data sheets. As a result of his accomplishments he was awarded an honorary Doctoral Degree (Doctor Honors Causa) by the Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain) in 2011 for inventing and developing the Class-E high-efficiency switching mode RF power amplifier. In 2007, he received the 2007 Microwave Pioneer award from the IEEE MTT-S, “in recognition of a major, lasting contribution of the development of the Class-E high efficiency switching mode, RF power amplifier.”
Nathan Sokal was born in Brooklyn NY in 1929. He enjoyed nature and outdoor activities, ballroom dancing with his wife Zelda, and their travels around the world. He is survived by his wife, Zelda, three children and six grandchildren.
Prepared by Jerry Hausner, MTTS Memorials Committee member & past Chair
His Impact on Mid-20th Century Microwave Technology
To say that the world and our industry has lost a titan with the passing of Dr Seymour B. Cohn would be an understatement. Seymour Cohn was a major contributor to microwave engineering from his first job at the Harvard Radio Research Lab (HRRL) during World War II and throughout his long and fruitful career. His exposure to microwave technology there in those early years of the blossoming microwave industry presented him with many issues that needed exploring. He responded with major contributions to stripline, isolators, waveguide-to-coax transitions, power dividers, ridged waveguide, directional couplers,\ and, most importantly, filter theory. His chapter in the book published by HRRL was an important contribution to filter design.
Even though he was not a member of academia per se, his research and writings provided part of many engineers on the job education and greatly enhanced their ability to design difficult components. At least two of his many papers can be considered to be classics for their impact on technology so significant at that time.
His major contribution in the 1950’s and 1960’s were done well before the computer became a ubiquitous design tool. His outstanding ability to use his strong grounding in field and network theory to analyze, gain an understanding of a microwave component, and create practical results and inventions, makes him one of the few giants of microwave engineering. Furthermore, his papers were always written to be easy for the design engineer to use. Quite often an involved mathematical formula was reduced to a handy design graph. Before the computer era, the microwave engineering field was blessed to have the contributions of Seymour Cohn.
Dr Cohn’s developments were so significant that by 1959, just eleven years after receiving his PhD, he was elected a Fellow of the IRE (IEEE), "For contributions to the theory and design of microwave components."
Seymour Cohn was born at Stamford, CT, in 1920. His parents were surprised and concerned, when at age14, he told them he wanted to become an electrical engineer. No one in the family had a scientific bent, and besides, these were The Depression Years and engineers couldn’t find jobs. But he persisted and became one of the most prolific, inventive and respected engineers in the mid-20th Century microwave industry.
He earned is BEE degree at Yale in 1942 then joined HRRL developing military electronics for the war effort. There he participated in, and later managed, development of a radar receiver. He spent seven months as an HRRL technical observer at the Army Air Force headquarters, in Italy, where he supported a radar group. There he devised circuit changes and electronic attachments to thwart new German countermeasures. Upon returning to the US, he was appointed leader of a microwave filter and tuner project where he did considerable original research and development. His group mastered techniques of designing all types of low-, high-, and bandpass filters using coaxial line and waveguide elements. He wrote that “since most of my work at (H)RRL has been in new fields, I have been able to invent a great number of useful devices of fundamental importance” . Seymour wrote chapters 26, 27, and most of 28 of the McGraw-Hill publication: “Very High-Frequency Techniques” authored by the HRRL technical staff.
In 1946 Seymour was awarded a pre-doctorate fellowship by the National Research Council for full time graduate study at Harvard. He was awarded his PhD in January, 1948. His thesis subject was on periodic structures contained within waveguide structures “for use as filters, and for slowing electromagnetic wave velocity in electron accelerators and traveling wave tubes” 1. (He soon after married his fiancé Florence. They had decided to wait until he finished his doctoral studies). After graduation, he joined Sperry Gyroscope Co. until 1953 and then Stanford Research Institute until 1960. Wanting a better balance of research and management, he left SRI and joined the Rantec as Vice President and Technical Director. At this point he had published 53 papers and had been awarded 25 patents.
At Rantec Dr Cohn oversaw the engineering group, supported engineers with his knowledge and expertise, and responded to business opportunities, especially those that used his areas of expertise. One of these was a filter that, over a band, would have a flat (constant) phase response instead of flat amplitude response (to the author’s (GO) knowledge it was the first of it’s kind.) This development indirectly led to a new, major product line for Rantec, a Waveguide Network Analyzer with Smith chart and related displays. After the author (HGO) constructed the filter, we asked ourselves how are we going to test and prove to the customer that the filter created an output with a flat phase response. With Dr Cohn’s ideas, we created a network that would measure phase over a band and plot the result. Later, Dr Cohn and other Rantec engineers conceived the first Network Analyzer product in the US, an instrument that measured both signal amplitude and phase and present it as a Smith chart of other graph.
In about 1964 Rantec was purchase by Emerson Electric Co. Dr Cohn stayed with Rantec for 2 or 3 more years but grew in disagreement with changes being introduced under the new management; in 1967 he decided to become a consultant. He incorporated as S. B. Cohn Associates and presented himself as a Microwave Component “Specialist” instead of “Engineer” to steer clear of potential legal issues. He wanted only four core clients, two of which were Wavecom and Narda Microwave.
With Narda, he designed multi-octave directional couplers and got his taste of designing matching circuits for active components. Two very difficult tasks were to match a step recovery diode to a YIG filter over 4 octaves, and the output of an RCA power transistor over an octave. These accomplishments were key to the development of the first ever, broadband, all solid state, microwave sweep generator, done under Jerry Hausner, the project engineer for this instrument. His achievements are truly remarkable and our community is fortunate that he documented and published that work so that all of us can benefit. He continued to consult for Narda Microwave until his retirement.
During this period Dr Cohn, Frank Coale and Terry Cisco formed a consulting company (CAED). Their biggest contract was with NASA for developing a collection of computer programs for microwave design. Cisco created the programs which included some based on Dr Cohn’s algorithms and his microstrip, stripline and slot line programs to determine the properties of physical structures including couplers. All these were published in a NASA Monograph. When Coale died the company closed.
Dr. Cohn consulted with Wavecom for about 20 years supporting their filter and passive component line. Clark Bell, Wavecom’s primary interface with Seymour, noted that Seymour was well known for solving very complex problems by paying close attention to every detail. This observation is supported by the contents of his consulting notebooks, one or more for each client. These notebooks have been donated to the Historical Exhibit of the MTT Society and are displayed at it’s site in Maryland, and (in part) during each IMS.
Seymour Cohn sought very high accuracy in those areas where it was necessary, but he also appreciated the use of simple approximations whenever possible, as he noted in two articles, “Bones from the Technical Graveyard” and “Beating a Problem to Death” .
In 1955 Seymour joined the Administrative Committee (AdCom) of IEEE PGMTT (now Microwaves Theory and Techniques Society – MTT-S). He was MTTS Chairman/President in 1962-63 and was elected Honorary Life Member of the MTT-S in 1978. He received many awards including the MTT-S Microwave Prize in 1964, IEEE Lamme Medal in 1974 and MTT-S Microwave Career Award 1979.
Dr Seymour B Cohn died exactly 6 weeks short of his 95th birthday on September 9, 2015. He was married to his beloved wife, Florence (Hoffman), for 65 years until her death in December, 2013. He is survived by sons Bill (Lisa), Ric (Carol), and Peter; grandsons Rob and Miles, and his brother Leonard.
Martin Schneider was born in 1930 and died on November 25, 2011. He received his PhD from the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Switzerland, and was employed at Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey, from 1961 until his retirement in 1997. His work was on active microwave devices for radio systems, micro-strip components for microwave and millimeter wave components up to 230 GHz, low-noise mixer diodes and circuits that were used in the radio astronomy experiments that resulted in the Nobel Prize for his colleagues. He worked in the Crawford Hill research facility on mixers and low noise diodes. Many Radio Astronomers were thrilled to obtain his low noise devices for their receivers. He retired in 1997 as a Technical Manager in the Wireless Technology Research Department at Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey with an impressive publication record.
Martin had a sincere fondness of his profession and a desire to serve MTT-S and its members. He had many functions while serving on MTT-S AdCom and was a constant source of ideas. For one, he created IEEE Reprint Books. Then he was instrumental in forming the Distinguished Lecturer program and produced Educational Videos. In all his functions, MTT-S Members were always on top of his priority list and he wanted to provide a myriad of services. When MTT-S became financially sound, mainly through the income from the IMS Exhibits, Martin was a strong advocate of using the Society resources for membership spending. As Chairman of the Membership Committee he created more local chapters, both nationally and internationally, than ever before. There were new Chapters in places like Siberia and others in strange sounding places. He became the chief advocate for our MTT- S Members and was well known and appreciated by many Chapters.
Martin received the Distinguished Service Award, which is given for outstanding service over many years for the benefit and advancement of the MTT-S. His citation read “For His Outstanding Dedicated Service to the Society”. His technical and profession leadership has been recognized by a number of awards including the Microwave Prize in 1979, the IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984, the IEEE Region Award in 1984, the IEEE/MTT Meritorious Service Award in 1989, and the Microwave Application Award in 1994. He served on the IEEE board of Directors in 1991/92. There he represented the Electromagnetics and Radiation Division and where he led the IEEE Committee on New Technology Directions. As a member of the MTT-S AdCom from 1984 to 1990, he made contributions to improved membership services and to publications and was instrumental in organizing a number of scientific workshops.
After his retirement, Martin continued his long tradition of meeting his close friend Reinhard Knerr for lunch, whenever he was in NJ. When it became apparent that he was nearing the end, Reinhard sent out an e-mail to his MTT-S friends and asked them to contact him, for the last time. The response was overwhelming.
A few days before he died, Reinhard and his wife went to visit him and his room was filled with greetings and cards. He gestured towards all the expressions of friendship and smiled. His wife, Anita, told them that he was so touched by their lifelong friendship which was more meaningful than any sympathy cards.
References 1. Sobol; IEEE Microwave Magazine, March 2004 2. MTT Transactions 1998
Contributions from Reinhard Knerr, Vasant Prabhu Edited by: Jerry Hausner
Prof. Mario Sorolla Ayza, passed away on November 1st, 2012, age 54, in his adopted city of Pamplona, Spain. His profession focus was in fundamental and applied research in the fields of microwaves, millimeter waves, and terahertz frequencies. He published more than 150 papers, two books, and one book chapter. Having participated in more than 50 research projects he presented nearly 300 conference papers; of which more than 20 were invited. That work resulted in 10 patents and nearly 5000 citations, with an H-index of 29.
Mario was born in Vinaròs, on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, on October 19th, 1958. He received the Telecommunication Engineer degree from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, in Barcelona, Spain, in 1984, and the PhD from the Polytechnic University of Madrid in Madrid, Spain, in 1991. His first working experience was at Tagra S.A., a Spanish company specializing in antenna design, where he worked between 1984 and 1985. At the same time, he became engaged with academia, teaching "Circuit Theory," "Control Systems," and "Communication Theory" at the Escola Politècnica Superior d'Enginyeria de Vilanova i la Geltrú in Catalonia.
He reached his first notable milestone when he enrolled in the Euratom-Ciemat Spanish Nuclear Fusion Experiment in 1986. He spent four years designing very-high-power millimeter-wave antennas and waveguides (28 GHz and 56 GHz at 200 KW CW) for plasma heating. From 1987 to 1988, he was an Invited Scientist with the Institut für Plasmaforschung (Institute of Plasma Research) at Stuttgart University in Stuttgart, Germany. There he collaborated closely with Prof. Dr. Manfred Thumm, who had a significant influence on him and his future career. Next he was involved in the design of very-high-power antennas and over-moded waveguide components, such as mode converters, bends, etc. His work for the Spanish National Fusion Laboratory (Madrid) and the Max-Planck Institut für Plasmaphysic (Garching bei München) spanned from 28 GHz to 140 GHz and up to 200 KW CW.
Prof. Sorolla returned to industry in 1990 working for Mier Comunicaciones, a Spanish company located near Barcelona, dedicated to radiofrequency electronics for space and ground applications. He designed monolithic microwave integrated circuits for satellite communications related to the European Space Agency (ESA). By the end of 1991, he was appointed Director of the Communications Engineering Department at Enginyeria La Salle, Universitat Ramón Llull in Barcelona, where he was simultaneously Professor of Electromagnetic Fields and Waves, Microwaves, and Photonics.
In 1993, he joined the Public University of Navarre (UPNA), Navarre, Spain, where he remained until he passed away. In 2002, he was appointed Full Professor and was Head of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department from 2002 to 2005; Leader of the Communications, Signal and Microwaves Research Group between 2007 and 2012; and Principal Investigator of the Millimeter and Terahertz Waves Laboratory since its creation.
Prof. Sorolla explored areas such as photonic/electromagnetic bandgaps, metamaterials, and structures based on extraordinary transmission phenomenon. He was always looking towards improving and enhancing the facilities at UPNA. Interested in technological applications, he embarked in 2007 on plans to start a new company: TAFCO Metawireless S.L. He played a leading role with respect to the vision and strategy of this spin-off company. TAFCO Metawireless S.L. has grown steadily since its launch in 2008.
Prof. Sorolla supervised nine doctoral students (four of which have been honored with different prestigious awards), many of whom have become authorities in their fields. As a sign of special appreciation for him and his career, UPNA recognized him with the Research Career Award in 2009, and his peers from the Asociación Navarra de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación (Navarre Association of Telecommunication Engineers) awarded him Engineer of the Year 2010. As a posthumous tribute to him, the Millimeter and Terahertz Waves Laboratory at UPNA was renamed as "Mario Sorolla Laboratory" in his honor.
Prof. Sorolla is survived by his wife, Puri, and his children, Carolina and Viviana.
Contributions to this article from Miguel A. G. Laso, Txema Lopetegi, Francisco Falcone. Edited by John Barr
Lester F. Eastman, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering, died on Aug. 9, 2013 at the age of 85. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy of achievements that includes producing a very impressive 125 Ph.D. students and co-authored more than 600 publications. He was a pioneer for the development of high speed compound microwave semiconductors. Les Eastman was an icon who helped to enhance the research of many individuals and enriched the lives of all who knew him.
He served in the US Navy as a radar specialist for the commissioning voyage of the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea between 1946-1948. Les then earned his B.S.E.E. in 1953, his M.S. in 1955 and his Ph.D. in 1957 all in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University. During basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Academy, and at Cornell, he was a lineman on their football teams.
In 1977 Eastman was a founding member of the National Science Foundation program at Cornell on submicron structures, now known as nanostructures and used in microwave transistors. The research he and his students did involving gallium nitride and related materials and on microwave power transistors now permeate commercial and defense applications. Since 1965, Eastman had been researching compound semiconductor materials, high-speed devices and circuits, and he had been active organizing workshops and conferences on these subjects at Cornell from 1967-2000. In the early 1970s he was a co-founder of Cayuga Associates which produced IMPATT and Gunn oscillators and then the very early GaAs FETs with micron size structures.
Les joined Cornell’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering as an Assistant Professor in 1957, was promoted to an Associate Professor (with tenure) in 1960 and became a full professor in 1966. In 1985, he became the John L. Given Professor in Engineering, and held that title until becoming Professor Emeritus in 2011. Les retired from Cornell in 2011. Since then he mentored students and colleagues from a range of scientific disciplines.
In June 2008, friends and colleagues honored Eastman with a symposium titled “Tubes to Transistors; Megahertz to Terahertz,” which celebrated Eastman’s 60th year at Cornell. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and a member of the Electromagnetics Academy. In 2003 he received the MTT-S Distinguished Educator Award. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1986 for pioneering and continuing contributions to communications technology resulting from the development of high- speed and high-frequency semiconductor devices and advanced microelectronics. He was instrumental in getting industry support to establish and build a world renowned nanofabrication center at Cornell University. In 1960-61 he did an exchange with Prof. Olving at Chalmers University of Technology in Goteborg, Sweden. This experience inspired his view of his research and role being of a much more international and global level.
Throughout his 60 year career, he loved to travel, visiting academic institutions, research labs, industry and governments from around the world. He also loved to sail on Cayuga Lake, particularly with his children and grandchildren. He was a loyal and longtime member of the First Presbyterian Church, serving as an Elder. His loss will be deeply felt by all who knew him, including the staff at Kendal Ithaca who ministered to his needs during his long illness. He was buried with full military honors. He was the loving husband of Anne Marie Gardner Eastman; beloved father of David J, Daniel, and Laurie; grandfather of 4 grandchildren Jason, Elizabeth, Evan and Jonathan, and 7 great grandchildren. He was raised in Waterville, NY and had 4 siblings. His wisdom and generosity enhanced the lives of 21 nieces and nephews and their families.
Contributions to this article from Anne Ju, Laurie E. Veal, Joan & Daniel Eastman Edited by Jerry Hausner
Tina Quach, Technical Program Chair and General Chair of RFIC 2008 and 2009 passed away on 15 July 2014 at age 49. Throughout her 25 years career, her professional focus was on design of state of the art RFIC components, specifically RF in the areas of cellular and wireless connectivity system ICs, broadband wireless communications, silicon millimeter-wave IC’s, RF device technology, modeling, and characterization, and high-efficiency RF Power Amplifiers.Technical Program Chair and General Chair of RFIC 2008 and 2009 passed away on 15 July 2014 at age 49. Throughout her 25 years career, her professional focus was on design of state of the art RFIC components, specifically RF in the areas of cellular and wireless connectivity system ICs, broadband wireless communications, silicon millimeter-wave IC’s, RF device technology, modeling, and characterization, and high-efficiency RF Power Amplifiers.
Tina Quach received her B.S. degree from University of California San Diego in Electrical Engineering with a Minor in Mathematics. She graduated in 1989 on the UCSD Provost Honors List. Ms. Quach obtained her MSc degree from Arizona State University in 1998 focusing on Envelope Following RF Power Amplifiers (PA) for digital cellular handsets. After receiving her B.S. degree, she joined Motorola Inc. Semiconductor Product Sector in Tempe, Arizona. She worked as a process engineer on the characterization and conversion of negative photoresist to positive photoresist process in the TMOS Process Group. From 1990 to 2000, she was a design engineer responsible for several key RF components. Her designs included a low cost PA for Cellular application (900 MHz) using Silicon GCMOS technology, various PAs for low cost, high performance applications using various GaAs process technologies, and front-end transceiver design including LNA and mixer components for WLAN applications at 2.4 – 2.5 GHz. From 2005 to 2009, she was responsible for several IC development projects as an analog and RF designer.
As a MMIC Design Engineer, Ms. Quach designed one of the highest efficiency class E PAs in the industry, operating at band I (1920 – 1980 MHz) and band II (1850 – 1910 MHz) using an HBT process with adaptive pre-distortion. She also designed a highly linear band I PA for HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) applications. She was a key member of a team developing advanced Envelop Following Techniques in RF power amplifiers. In 2011, she joined Microchip Technology Inc. as the procurement and preparation of intellectual property (IP) manager for the Microchip 32-bit Microcontrollers family.
Tina Quach was a truly dedicated IEEE and MTT-S volunteer, and a life member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. She was one of the founding members of IEEE RFIC Symposium and started working as part of the technical program committee in 2000. Ms. Quach has been one of the first women to take on leadership positions in a MTT-S sponsored conference – the IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium. She was the RFIC Technical Program Co-Chair in 2007 in Honolulu, HI; the RFIC Technical Program Chair in 2008 in Atlanta, GA; and the RFIC General Chair in 2009 in Boston, MA. She continued to remain involved with the RFIC organization as an Executive Committee Member and as a conference organizer from 2011 to 2013. In these roles she fostered closer collaboration of RFIC with the International Microwave Symposium (IMS), which continues to this day. Ms. Quach was also the Special Guest Editor for the 2005 and 2010 RFIC Symposium Special Issues in the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. Throughout her career, she always went above and beyond her industrial job responsibilities and was instrumental in the success of RFIC conference. She had 6 IEEE publications. She will be dearly missed by her family, and everyone who had the pleasure of working with her in the IEEE MTT society.
Tina Quach loved the art of cooking, and very often brought the labors of her endeavors to share at work, much to the delight of her colleagues. She had a mischievous spirit, contagious laugh, and enjoyment in playing practical jokes on her friends and colleagues. Tina Quach is survived by her husband, Carl, and her children, Stephanie, Thomas and Stacy.
Contributions to this article are provided by Bertan Bakkaloglu, Joseph Staudinger and David Ngo. Edited by John Barr and Fred Schindler.
Lin Weigan, a renowned microwave theorist, "Father of Microwaves in China", academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, former Vice-President of Chengdu Institute of Radio Engineering (CIRE), Professor of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), passed away on January 23, 2015, aged 96, in Chengdu, China.
Professor Lin was born in Taishan County, Guangdong Province on October 20, 1919. He received his B.E. degree from Tsinghua University in July 1939 and Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in March 1951. Successively, he taught at Lingnan University, Sun Yat-Sen University, and South China Institute of Technology (presently South China University of Technology). He participated in the preparation work of the founding of CIRE (presently the UESTC) and then he contributed the rest of his life to this university since December 1957.
He was the first Chair of IEEE MTT-S Beijing Chapter, and guest professor at many world-famous universities, including the University of California, Berkeley. In 1990, he was elected Fellow of Electromagnetic Academy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in 2003, he was made an honorary doctor by Illinois Institute of Technology.
Professor Lin dedicated his life to the research and education of microwave theory and technology and ranked as one of the leading scientists providing pivotal contributions to technology progress of China over the past 50 years. His theory of multiple modes in a single cavity, originally put forward in his doctoral dissertation, has expanded the horizons of the fields of satellite communications and mobile communications. The "Lin-Zhong" approach for calculating the characteristic impedance of transmission line, was named after him and associate professor Zhong Xiangli, and has received international acclaim. He has published four books and authored and coauthored more than 300 research papers and contributed significantly in the closed field theory, the open field theory and the image theory. He won the Scientific Research Prize of the Chinese Congress in 1978 and he was elected member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Academician of CAS) in 1980. In 1987, he was awarded the Third Prize of National Natural Sciences; and he was awarded He-Liang-He-Li Prize for Progress in Science and Technology in 1999.
Professor Lin was one of the major founders of education of electromagnetic field and microwave technology in China and is respectfully called "Father of Chinese Microwaves" by peers from home and abroad. During his teaching life of more than 60 years, he nurtured 120+ master students, 80+ doctoral students and 10+ postdoctoral researchers, which won him praise for being one of the most influential teachers of the next generation of Chinese microwave researchers.
Dr. Samuel (Sam) Sensiper, who spent his career primarily working in microwave and antenna engineering, passed away on May 7, 2015 in Davis, California. He earned a BSEE from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1939 and a MSEE from Stanford in 1941. In 1951, he earned a Sc.D. in Electrical Engineering from MIT. His Sc. D. thesis, “Electromagnetic Wave Propagation on Helical Conductors” is the publication for which he is best known. Dr. Sensiper received a Certificate of Commendation from the US Navy in 1946 and served as an Industrial Electronics Fellow at MIT during 1946 and 1947.
He worked as a project engineer at Sperry Gyroscope in Great Neck, New York during World War II and from 1951 to 1975 at various Los Angeles area corporations including Hughes Aircraft Company, Space General Corporation, TRW Inc. and Transco Products. Afterwards, he did consulting work for a number of organizations and companies in Southern California.
Dr. Sensiper was active in the Los Angeles area IEEE APS and MTTS activities. He was General Chair of the Steering Committee for 1970 IEEE G-MTT International Symposium in Newport, CA and the APS Liaison on the MTTS International Microwave Symposium Steering Committee for the joint 1981 MTTS-APS-URSI symposium in Los Angeles.
Dr. Sensiper was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 1960 for “For contributions in the fields of microwave instrumentation and radiation.” He was also a life member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Society of Professional Engineers. Dr. Sensiper also participated in the MIT Alumni Association, the Stanford Alumni Association, Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu and the Electromagnetics Academy.
Dr. Sensiper was known for his keen intellect, his love of mathematics and his sense of humor. He is survived by his wife Elaine, children Martin, Sylvia and David, Martin's wife Elaine, Sylvia's husband Joe Dumit and two grandsons, Maxwell (Sensiper) and Andrew (Dumit).
Principal contribution to this article by David Sensiper. Edited by John Barr, MTTS Memorials Chair.
Joseph A. Saloom received his B.S degree in Electrical Engineering in 1949 and his PhD degree in 1951, both from the University of Illinois.
In 1951 he joined Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J., to work on traveling wave tubes. In 1956 he was placed in charge of an engineering group for the development of microwave tubes in Allentown, PA. In 1959 he founded a new company sponsored by Varian Associates, named SFD Laboratories which did R&D for crossed field microwave tubes. He served as its President until 1965 when he was named Varian Vice President of Eastern Operations that designed microwave semiconductors, microwave circuits and electron tubes. In 1975 he joined M/A-Com as a Vice President of Electron Devices and headed R&D for solid state devices and circuits. In 1980 he was named a Senior Vice President and Director of M/A-Com’s Technology Center. Retired in 1990 and did consulting work mostly for the U.S. Naval Operations at Crane, Indiana.
He served as the Chair of the Working Group on Microwave Devices for the DoD Advisory Group on Electron Devices (AGED); Chair of the Coalition on Advancing Industrial Technology (CAIT); Engineering Advisory Board the University of Massachusetts and the Georgia Tech Research Institute; member of the Board of Trustees of Middlesex Community College; and Founding Chair of the Council of Research and Technology (CORETECH).
He was a Fellow of the IEEE and served on the ADCOM of the Electronic Devices Society. He published papers in the Journal of Applied Physics, the Bell Systems Technical Journal, and in the Transactions of the IEEE. He is a member of Sigma XI, Eta Kappa Nu and Pi Mu Epsilon and was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Engineering School of the University of Illinois. In 2005 he received the IEEE IVEC Award with the citation “For pioneering contribution to the development of high power traveling wave tubes and visionary leadership within the vacuum electronics industry.” During World War II, he served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.
He died in his home on June 30, 2015 at the age of 93 and is survived by 5 children, 15 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.
Prof. Joshua Le-wei Li passed away on 22nd of May 2015 at age 54. He was a National Chair Professor at the University of Electronic Science & Technology of China, and was appointed as the Founding Director of the Institute of Electromagnetics, the Director of the Centre for Space Polar Energy Microwave Power Transmission, and the Vice Chair of the University Academic Committee. He was also a Professor of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering at Monash University (Malaysia campus).
Prof Li was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, in July, 1961. He received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, in 1992. During 1992-2011, he was with the ECE Dept at the National Univ of Singapore as Professor and the Director of the NUS Centre for Microwave and Radio Frequency. From 1999 to 2004, he was appointed to the High Performance Computations on Engineered Systems Program of the Singapore-MIT Alliance as a Faculty Fellow. During his career, he held visiting Scientist/Professor roles with MIT, University of Paris VI, France, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Prof Li had been researching in all areas of complex electromagnetics and his name appears in hundreds of books, chapters and journal papers. He made significant contributions to the theory of Green's functions and developed analytical dyadic Green's functions for different electromagnetic structures and media.
He was active in both the Antennas and Propagation (AP) and Microwave Theory and Techniques (MTT) Societies. He served as a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE AP Society from 2011-2013, was a member of the MTT Technical Committee 15 on Microwave Field Theory and served as the IEEE Singapore MTT/AP Joint Chapter Chair. He was elevated to a Fellow of the IEEE in 2005 and a Fellow of The Electromagnetics Academy in 2007.
Contributions to this article were provided by George Eleftheriades on behalf of MTT-15. Edited by John Barr, Jerry Hauser.
Yevgeny Mitrofanovich Kuleshov, IEEE Life Senior Member, 2000 IEEE Microwave Pioneer Award winner, and one of the founding fathers of the Ukrainian and USSR quasi-optics of short-millimeter and sub-millimeter wave research, died on the 9 February 2016 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Born on 21 February 1922 in Voronezh, he graduated in 1946 from the radio-engineering faculty of the Kiev Polytechnic Institute (KPI, now National Technical University of Ukraine “KPI”). In 1946-1955, he worked in the Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology (UIPT) in Kharkiv, where he became head of the laboratory in 1953. In 1957, he defended his Ph.D at the Kharkov Military Academy of Radio-Engineering and Radar.
In 1955, two departments engaged in millimeter-wave magnetrons and ground-wave radar branched off UIPT to create new Institute of Radio-Physics and Electronics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (IRE NASU). Dr. Kuleshov became head of the department of receiving and measuring devices at IRE, later renamed as quasioptics department and stayed at that post until 1988. At the initial stage, he was designing and developing various general-purpose devices and circuits in the millimeter-wave range (wavelength from 1 to 10 mm) using standard rectangular waveguides. This work along with the work of IRE NASU scientists on the millimeter-wave technologies was awarded the Lenin Prize, the highest technical prize in the USSR, in 1960. There were multiple applications for these circuits including the diagnostics of hot plasma in the recently proposed Tokamak nuclear fusion machines. In fact, all early buildings of IRE NASU were built by 1959 thanks to massive research funding of Kuleshov’s department from Institute of Atomic Energy (IAE).
In the mid-1960s to the early-1970s, Dr. Kuleshov broke ground with development of wideband quasi-optical components and circuits working in the 0.1 to 2 mm wavelength range. Once again there was interest from the same department of hot plasma diagnostics at the Tokamak thermonuclear fusion machines at IAE in Moscow which was then building new machines with denser and hotter plasmas and thus was interested in even shorter electromagnetic waves for the diagnostics.
At the heart of these quasi-optical components was the innovative idea of the hollow dielectric beam-waveguide (HDB) technology, first proposed in 1964. In 1972, it was patented by eight Kharkiv inventors including Kuleshov. HDB had the form of a wide (dozens of wavelengths and more) dielectric tube with the air in the inner channel, encased into a metal cover. The inner surface of the HDB dielectric lining had triangular longitudinal ribs having depth smaller than half-wavelength. In comparison to other waveguides, the cross-sectional dimension of HDB was significantly larger compared to the wavelength, and the dielectric lining had relatively large loss tangent (typically around 0.1) and sizable thickness. All this resulted in a specific “self-filtering effect”: the higher-order modes of HDB propagate with significant losses and only the principal HE_11 mode keeps low attenuation.
Besides being a team member for the Lenin Prize in 1960, Dr. Kuleshov held the USSR titles of Honorary Inventor (1978), Honorary Radio Engineer (1980), and was awarded, as team leader, the State Prize of Ukraine (1972). In 1988, Kuleshov retired from the post of department head; however he continued active and fruitful work at IRE NASU, as a senior scientist. At that time his research interests shifted to the application of HDB technology in several promising civilian and defense-oriented areas such as materials testing and radar-cross-section measurements of the downscaled models of sea-borne and air-borne targets. Still the sum-millimeter wave diagnostics of hot plasma inside IAE’s nuclear fusion machines was the most important area of application, which culminated into the 0.195-mm wavelength 9-channel interferometer-polarimeter system installed at Tokamak-15. When Ukraine became an independent nation in 1992 and the Tokamak research was closed down, Dr. Kuleshov’s team started publishing their results in international technical journals and became internationally visible.
It is worth noting that Dr. Kuleshov continued working as a leading scientist at his department till the very end. In 2015, he received the Honorable Mention signed by the President of NASU, for his significant contributions to radio physics and electronics.
He joined the IEEE MTT Society in 1996 and was elevated to Senior Membership in 1999. In 2000, Dr. Kuleshov was awarded the IEEE Microwave Pioneer Award, with citation “For development of a hollow-ribbed dielectric beamguide technology and quasi-optical measuring techniques of the short-millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength ranges.” In 2001 and 2002, he served as elected Chairman of the IEEE East Ukraine Joint Chapter, the largest in Ukraine. In 2010, he was granted the status of IEEE Life Senior Member, in recognition for many years of both technical work and volunteering.
Dr. Kuleshov passed away less than two weeks short of his 94th birthday. He was married to his beloved wife, Lyudmyla (Afonicheva) for 59 years until her death in 2011. He is survived by his daughter and son, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Ukrainian microwave community has lost a remarkable scientist and valued colleague, the founder of quasi-optics department and one of the founding fathers of IRE NASU. Our hearts and prayers go out to him.
Tatiana L. Zinenko
Department of Quasioptics, Institute of Radio-Physics and Electronics NASU
Kharkiv, Ukraine
Dr. Simon “Si” Ramo, a pioneer in microwave theory and techniques, passed away June 27, 2016 (aged 103) in Santa Monica, California, U.S.A. He is probably best known in the microwave community as the co-author, with John Whinnery, of “Fields and Waves in Modern Radio” (1944), a foundational textbook for a generation of microwave engineers. Dr. Ramo authored a number of additional books in a variety of subjects, from “Introduction to Microwaves” (1945) to “The Management of Innovative Technological Corporations” (1980) to “Tennis by Machiavelli” (1984) to “Let Robots do the Dying” (2011) and many others.
Dr. Ramo was born on May 7, 1913 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Lithuanian immigrants. At the age of 16, he started attending the University of Utah and received a BS Electrical Engineering. By age 23, he had graduated from California Institute of Technology with dual PhDs in Physics and Electrical Engineering. After graduating, he joined General Electric, where he became a leading pioneer in microwave technology and helped develop GE’s electron microscope. By age 30, he had received 25 patents and was named one of America’s “most outstanding young electrical engineers.”
In 1946, he joined Hughes Aircraft as Director of Research for Electrical Engineering, the start of a career that included shaping the creation of the world leading Southern California aerospace industry. He soon became the VP/Director of Operations of Hughes’s Aerospace Group in 1948 and became a leading expert in missile development.
In 1953, he and Dean Woodridge founded Ramo-Woodridge, which would become TRW (1958), one of the leading names in the aerospace industry and a center of technology development that would be the employer for many microwave engineers. In 1957, he and Woodridge were featured on the cover of Time Magazine, as the “face of a new age of technology”. Dr Ramo became the Vice-Chair of TRW Board of Directors in 1961 and became a leading writer on the management of technology companies. TRW grew to roughly 100,000 employees and in 2002 was acquired by Northrop Grumman Corp.
In 1964, TRW spun-off its Space Technology Division as Bunker-Ramo, with Dr Ramo as President, which focused on military electronic devices, computers and communication technology. Bunker-Ramo was later acquired by Allied Corporation, now Honeywell.
Dr Ramo has received multiple honors for his many contributions including US National Medal of Science in 1979 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983 from President Reagan. In 1964 he was a Founding Member of the National Academy of Engineering which renamed its Founders Medal in 2013 as the Simon Ramo Founders Medal. He was inducted in 1974 as a member of National Academy of Science. Dr. Ramo was elected a Fellow of the IEEE in 1950 for “For his many contributions to the analysis of electromagnetic phenomena and for his leadership in research.” In 1980, he was selected as the IEEE Founder’s Medal recipient "For contributions and leadership in the development, application, and management of systems engineering in the field of electronics” and then in 1982 the IEEE created the IEEE Simon Ramo Medal for “exceptional achievement in systems engineering and systems science.” He has been called by some as the founder of modern systems engineering.
While Dr Ramo formally “retired” from TRW in 1978 he continued to consult with industry and government and had significant impacts for many years on aerospace and technology policy. He continued writing and over his lifetime he authored or co-authored over 60 books on technology, management, societal impacts of technology and playing tennis. Dr Ramo was the keynote speaker for 1989 IEEE MTTS International Microwave Symposium. In 2013, at age 100, he received US Patent No. 8606170 B2 (photo) for “Method and apparatus for interactive, computer-based, automatically adaptable learning” — becoming the oldest person at the time to receive a US patent.
Dr. Ramo is survived by two sons, James Brian and Alan Martin, four grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren. His wife of 71 years, Virginia, died in 2009. Witty, down to earth, approachable is the way many remember Dr. Ramo. He will be missed and remembered by many.
Compiled by John Barr, MTTS Memorials Chair, memorials@mtt.org
Photo credit: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Professor Xue Liangjin, former President of Microwave Society of Chinese Institute of Electronics, passed away on September 2nd 2016 at the age of 80.
Professor Xue was born in 1936 in Sichuan Province, China. In 1960, he graduated from Chengdu Institute of Radio Engineering, now known as University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). He stayed in UESTC as a lecturer and was later promoted to associate professor and professor respectively. He retired as an Emeritus Professor from UESTC in 1999. He was the President of Microwave Society of Chinese Institute of Electronics from 2005 to 2013.
Professor Xue Liangjin was well-known in China as an expert in the field of microwave and millimeter wave technology. He was not only an accomplished researcher, but also a committed educator. He published two books and many technical papers. He received seven awards given by the Chinese Government for his outstanding research achievements. He graduated more than twenty research students during his teaching career in UESTC.
Professor Xue Liangjin was survived by his wife Ms Tian Ronglan living in Chengdu and his daughter Miss Xue Lan, who resides in California currently.
Charles Seashore, 83, an early innovator in millimeter wave technology passed away June 27, 2016.
Seashore was a Life Member of IEEE and active in the local IEEE Twin Cities Section and chapters. He was a member of the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society and Aerospace and Electronics Society.
After graduated in 1956 with a BSEE from the University of Minnesota, he served in the UA Army as part of the Space Development Program in Huntsville, Alabama. There he also received a MSEE from University of Alabama. After leaving Huntsville, Seashore worked on military systems with Honeywell in California while earning a PhD at University of California. From there, he when to Honeywell in Minnesota and then later joined Alliant Tech Systems as a technical manager. Throughout his carrier, he was an active contributor in the millimeter radar and infrared sensors fields.
Seashore published more than 100 technical papers, contributed to four engineering technical books, and held three patents.
He is survived by his wife, Dolores, three children, and two granddaughters.
Professor Kenneth Kwai-Hsiang Mei (K. K. Mei) was born in Shanghai, China, in 1932. He attended the National University of Taiwan as a student in the Department of Physics for a year before moving to Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He was awarded his Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. degrees by the University of Wisconsin. In 1962 he joined the faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, USA. He became a full professor there in 1973, and emeritus professor in 1994. He then joined City University of Hong Kong, and from 1994 to 2007, was professor and chair of the Department of Electronic Engineering. From 1998 to 2002, he was also the director of the Wireless Communications Research Centre of City University of Hong Kong.
Professor Mei was an exceptional innovator in Computational Electromagnetics. His PhD dissertation was a pioneering work in the numerical solutions of integral equations, predecessor to the Method of Moments. He has primarily published in the Transactions of the Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S). He got a Special Recognition Award in 1967 for his IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation paper entitled “Theory of Conical Equiangular Spiral Antennas”. He pioneered the application of Finite Difference (FD) and Finite Element (FE) methods to antenna and scattering problems. He introduced the Unimoment Method to terminate the FD/FE meshes. In 1974 his paper on the Unimoment Method received an Honorable Mention as Best Paper of the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. In 1989 he invented Superabsorption, a method to improve absorbing boundary conditions, and in 1992, the Measured Equation of Invariance (MEI).
Professor Mei was elevated to Fellow of IEEE in 1979. For his substantial contributions to Computational Electromagnetics and Maxwellian circuits he was awarded the IEEE 2009 Electromagnetics Award, an award jointly sponsored by four IEEE Societies: Antennas and Propagation, Electromagnetic Compatibility, Microwave Theory and Techniques and Geoscience and Remote Sensing.
Professor Mei passed away in Oakland, California, USA on 16 February, 2017.