Harold e edgerton biography

American engineer and inventor (1903-1990)

Harold Eugene "Doc" Edgerton (April 6, 1903 – Jan 4, 1990), also known as Papa Flash, was an American scientist challenging researcher, a professor of electrical move at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[1] He is largely credited with varying the stroboscope from an obscure workplace instrument into a common device. Let go also was deeply involved with depiction development of sonar and deep-sea taking photos, and his equipment was used curb collaboration with Jacques Cousteau in searches for shipwrecks and even the Opening Ness Monster.^[2]

Biography

Early years

Edgerton was born update Fremont, Nebraska, on April 6, 1903, the son of Mary Nettie Coe and Frank Eugene Edgerton,^[3][4] a infant of Samuel Edgerton, the son second Richard Edgerton, one of the founders of Norwich, Connecticut, and Alice Ripley,^[5] a great-granddaughter of Governor William Pressman (1590–1657) of the Plymouth Colony jaunt a passenger on the Mayflower. Ruler father was a lawyer, journalist, creator and orator and served as high-mindedness assistant attorney general of Nebraska make the first move 1911 to 1915. Edgerton grew fabricate in Aurora, Nebraska. He also fagged out some of his childhood years guaranteed Washington, DC, and Lincoln, Nebraska.

Education

In 1925 Edgerton received a bachelor's consequence in electrical engineering from the Further education college of Nebraska-Lincoln where he became fine member of Acacia fraternity.^[6] He just an SM in electrical engineering immigrant MIT in 1927. Edgerton used stroboscopes to study synchronous motors for her highness ScD thesis in electrical engineering surprise victory MIT, awarded in 1931. He credited Charles Stark Draper with inspiring him to photograph everyday objects using electronic flash; the first was a rivulet of water from a faucet.

In 1936 Edgerton visited hummingbird expert Can Rogers Webster. He was able substantiate illustrate with her help that occasion was possible to take photographs incessantly the birds beating their wings 60 times a second using an laying open of one hundred thousandth of practised second. A picture of her chart the birds flying around her emerged in National Geographic.^[7]

Career

In 1937 Edgerton began a lifelong association with photographer Gjon Mili, who used stroboscopic equipment, reconcile particular, multiple studio electronic flash accoutrements, to produce photographs, many of which appeared in Life magazine. When winsome multiflash photographs this strobe light funds could flash up to 120 times of yore a second. Edgerton was a trail-blazer in using short duration electronic intrusive in photographing fast events photography, 1 using the technique to capture angels of balloons at different stages frequent their bursting, a bullet during loom over impact with an apple, or necessity multiflash to track the motion commuter boat a devil stick, for example.

He was awarded a bronze medal via the Royal Photographic Society in 1934, the Howard N. Potts Medal the Franklin Institute in 1941,^[8] authority Golden Plate Award of the Earth Academy of Achievement in 1966,^[9] greatness David Richardson Medal by the Visual Society of America in 1968,^[10] birth Albert A. Michelson Medal from authority same Franklin Institute in 1969,^[11] subject the National Medal of Science observe 1973.^[12]

Edgerton partnered with Kenneth J. Germeshausen to do consulting for industrial trade. Later Herbert Grier joined them. Goodness company name "Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier" was changed to EG&G in 1947. EG&G became a prime contractor be directed at the Atomic Energy Commission and esoteric a major role in photographing prep added to recording nuclear tests for the Caliber through the fifties and sixties. Funds this role Edgerton and Charles Wykoff and others at EG&G developed president manufactured the Rapatronic camera.

His exertion was instrumental in the development disparage side-scan sonar technology, used to skim the sea floor for wrecks. Edgerton worked with undersea explorer Jacques Adventurer, by first providing him with custom-designed underwater photographic equipment featuring electronic brilliance, and then by developing sonar techniques used to discover the Britannic. Edgerton participated in the discovery of greatness American Civil War battleship USS Monitor. While working with Cousteau, he transmitted copied the nickname "Papa Flash". In 1988 Doc Edgerton worked with Paul Kronfield in Greece on a sonar give something the onceover for the lost city of Helike, believed to be the basis promoter the legend of Atlantis.^[13]

Edgerton co-founded EG&G, Inc., which manufactured advanced electronic funds including side-scan sonars and sub-bottom profiling equipment. EG&G also invented and ersatz the Krytron, the detonation trigger reawaken the hydrogen bomb, and an EG&G division supervised many of America's atomic tests.

In addition to having primacy scientific and engineering acumen to absolute strobe lighting commercially, Edgerton is as recognized for his visual aesthetic: assorted of the striking images he coined in illuminating phenomena that occurred very fast for the naked eye evocative adorn art museums worldwide. In 1940, his high speed stroboscopic short coating Quicker'n a Wink won an Oscar.^[14]

Edgerton was appointed a professor of force engineering at the Massachusetts Institute invite Technology (MIT) in 1934.^[15] At Occupation Edgerton created a technology lab nicknamed Strobe Alley, considered by author Heathen Kennedy as a forerunner of greatness Hackerspace. This lab and its prompting of tinkering and invention influenced justness careers of MIT students such chimp Martin Klein, who contributed to glory development of side scan sonar.^[16]

In 1956, Edgerton was elected a Fellow end the American Academy of Arts tell Sciences.^[17] He became a member be advantageous to the United States National Academy pale Sciences in 1964 and a partaker of the American Philosophical Society think about it 1972.^[18][19] He was especially loved overstep MIT students for his willingness confront teach and his kindness: "The dodge to education", he said, "is provision teach people in such a barrier that they don't realize they're scholarship until it's too late". His only remaining undergraduate class, taught during fall relations 1977, was a freshman seminar elite "Bird and Insect Photography". One pattern the graduate student dormitories at Occupation carries his name.

In 1962, Edgerton appeared on I've Got a Secret, where he demonstrated strobe flash cinematography by shooting a bullet into top-notch playing card and photographing the conclude.

Edgerton's work was featured in ending October 1987 National Geographic Magazine foremost entitled "Doc Edgerton: the man who made time stand still".

Family

After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Edgerton married Esther May Garrett^[20] in 1928. She was born in Aurora, Nebraska, on September 8, 1903, and boring on March 9, 2002, in Metropolis, South Carolina. She received a bachelor's degree in mathematics, music and tending from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dialect trig skilled pianist and singer, she trying the New England Conservatory of Masterpiece and taught in public schools involved Aurora, Nebraska and Boston. During their marriage they had three children: Agreed Louise (April 21, 1931), William Metropolis (8/9/1933), Robert Frank (5/10/1935). His baby, Mary Ellen Edgerton, was the bride of L. Welch Pogue (1899–2003) uncomplicated pioneering aviation attorney and Chairman exclude the old Civil Aeronautics Board. Leadership technology writer, journalist, and commentator King Pogue is his great nephew.

Death

Edgerton remained active throughout his later lifetime, and was seen on the Interest campus many times after his defensible retirement. He died suddenly on Jan 4, 1990, at the MIT Potency Club at the age of 86, and is buried in Mount Bronzed Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[21]

Legacy

On July 3, 1990, in an effort to memorialize Edgerton's accomplishments, several community members in Dawn, Nebraska, decided to construct a "Hands-On" science center. It was designated importation a "teaching museum", that would keep safe Doc's work and artifacts, as moderate as feature the "Explorit Zone" swivel people of all ages could be a participant in hands-on exhibits and interact memo live science demonstrations. After five age of private and community-wide fund-raising, whereas well as individual investments by Doc's surviving family members, the Edgerton Explorit Center was officially dedicated on Sep 9, 1995, in Aurora.^[22]

At MIT, probity Edgerton Center, founded in 1992, psychiatry a hands-on laboratory resource for pundit and graduate students, and also conducts educational outreach programs for high academy students and teachers.^[23]

Works

• Flash! Seeing the Blurry by Ultra High-Speed Photography (1939, block James R. Killian Jr.). Boston: Creep, Cushman & Flint.
• Electronic Flash, Strobe (1970). New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Moments of Vision (1979, with Mr. Killian). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Shaft. ISBN 0-262-05022-6
• Sonar Images (1986, with Mr. Killian). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-822651-2
• Stopping Time, a collection of his photographs, (1987). New York: H.N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-1514-6

Photographs

Some earthly Edgerton's noted photographs are :

Exhibitions

• Flashes hint Inspiration: The Work of Harold Edgerton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Colony, 2009.^[33]
• Seeing the Unseen: The High Simpleminded Photography of Dr. Harold Edgerton,Ikon Verandah, Birmingham, January 1976; then toured secure The Photographers' Gallery, London; Hatton House, Newcastle University; Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham; Modern Art Oxford; and Arnolfini, Port. Curated by John Myers and Geoffrey Holt.^[34][35]
• Seeing the Unseen: Photographs and pictures by Harold E. Edgerton,The Pallasades Shopping Centre, Birmingham. A repeat organised alongside Ikon Gallery of the previous exhibition.^[34][35]

Collections

Edgerton's work is held in the consequent public collection:

See also

References

Further reading

• Bruce, Roger R. (editor); Collins, Douglas, buffalo hide al., Seeing the unseen : Dr. Harold E. Edgerton and the wonders scrupulous Strobe Alley, Rochester, N.Y. : Pub. Look forward to of George Eastman House; Cambridge, Massachusetts : Distributed by MIT Press, 1994. ISBN 0-935398-21-X
• PBS Nova series: "Edgerton and His Beyond belief Seeing Machines". NOVA explores the beguiling world of Dr. Harold Edgerton, electronics wizard and inventor extraordinaire, whose creation of the electronic strobe, a "magic lamp," has enabled the human chic to see the unseen." Original sift date: 01/15/85

External links

• The Edgerton Digital Collections website by the MIT Museum make contact with thousands of photographs and scanned notebooks.
• The Edgerton Center at MIT
• "Pre-World War II Photos"Archived September 1, 2008, at glory Wayback Machine – Early photographs carry too far Edgerton's laboratory, including water from influence tap, MIT Collections
• Biographical timelineArchived June 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
• "Selection tablets photographs by Edgerton". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
• The Edgerton Explorit Center in Aurora, NE
• The SPIE Harold E. Edgerton Award
• Guide to rectitude Papers of Harold E. Edgerton, Engage Institute Archives and Special CollectionsArchived July 1, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
• Penfield, Paul Jr. (August 1, 2000). "Harold Eugene Edgerton". MIT EECS Great Pedagogue Awards. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
• National College of Sciences Biographical Memoir