In Memoria

Robert Adler – Scientist, Engineer, Teacher, and Inventor 1913 – 2007 The ultrasonics community lost one of its most prolific inventors when Robert Adler passed away on 15 February 2007 in Boise, Idaho USA at the age of 93. His loss marks the culmination of an illustrious career spanning seven decades that led to pioneering contributions in vacuum tubes, ultrasonics, acoustooptical interactions, and surface acoustic waves and their applications to the electronics industry, consumer electronics, and communications equipment. Robert Adler was born in Vienna in 1913. After receiving his doctorate in physics in 1937 from the University of Vienna, Austria, he became engaged in patent work there, and later went to England. After the war broke out, he came to Chicago and worked first in the field of measuring instruments. He joined Zenith Radio Corporation in 1941. Ten years later he was made Associate Director of Research, Vice President in 1959, and Director of Research in 1963. In addition to his own research, in the thirty-seven years after he joined the research group at Zenith, he played an increasingly important role in forging one of the great industrial research teams in the U.S., at times numbering more than three hundred people. When economic exigencies compelled a drastic retrenching of this activity, rather than preside over it, Adler resigned his post in 1978. He became Vice President of Research of the Extel Corporation in Northbrook, Illinois until 1982. Always committed to the continuing education of engineers, Adler was also adjunct professor of electrical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana. Never one to actually retire, Dr. Adler remained a technical consultant primarily with Zenith, until 1999 when Zenith merged with LG Electronics Inc., and Elo TouchSystems. His early work was concentrated in new types of vacuum tubes, including the phasitron modulator used in early FM transmitters, receiving tubes for FM detection and color demodulation, transverse-field traveling wave tubes, and the electron beam parametric amplifier. His numerous contributions to ultrasonics technology include the first electromechanical IF filter and the development of ultrasonic remote control devices for television receivers which remained in use until about 1980 when infrared LEDs and phototransisters replaced ultrasound. He was active in the fields of acoustoopitcal interaction (light deflectors for image scanning), acoustic surface waves (filters and amplifiers) and the optical video disc. His recent work has largely been in the field of display devices and touch systems for displays employing surface acoustic waves. Dr. Adler developed the gated-beam tube which represented a new concept in receiving tubes. His noise-gated synch clipper and automatic gain control secured stability of television reception in the fringe areas. His contribution to low-noise traveling-wave tubes was important in military communications. Later he applied the new principle of parametric amplification to electron beams which was at the time the most sensitive practical amplifier for ultra high frequency (UHF) signals. It was used by radio astronomers in the United States and abroad. Electromechanical devices always interested Adler. During World War II he worked on high-frequency magnetostrictive oscillators. Remote control of television receivers by an ultrasonic gong grew out of this work. Interest in the interaction between light and ultrasound led to new ways of deflecting and modulating laser beams, using Bragg diffraction for television displays and in high-speed printing. Adler pioneered the use of surface acoustic waves in intermediate frequency filters for color television, a technology that has since become universal, not only in television but as an essential building block of cellular telephone handsets. Concurrently he devoted attention to optical video disc players. Dr. Adler also pioneered the use of surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology for touch screens. Since the early 1990s, as a consultant to Elo TouchSystems, he actively contributed to the commercialization and further innovation of his SAW touch screen invention. A prolific inventor with a seemingly never-ending thirst for knowledge, his pioneering developments spanned from the Golden Age of Television into the High-Definition Era, earning him more than 180 U.S. patents. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published his most recent patent application, for advances in touch-screen technology, on 1 February 2007. “Bob Adler was an unparalleled technical contributor, leader, adviser and teacher,” said Jerry K. Pearlman, retired Zenith chairman and CEO, who knew Dr. Adler for 35 years. “His gifts and passions were many, his mentoring matchless and his ego totally nonexistent.” In 1951, Dr. Adler became a Fellow of the Institute of Radio Engineers (now IEEE) “for his development of transmission and detection devices for frequency modulated signals and of electro-mechanical filter systems.” He received the IEEE Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in 1958 for his “original work on ultrasonic remote controls” for television, the Inventor of the Year award from George Washington University in 1967, the IEEE Outstanding Achievement Award in Consumer Electronics in 1970, the Outstanding Technical Paper Award from the Chicago Section of the IEEE in 1974 for his report on “An Optical Video Disc Player for NTSC Receivers,” representing early work in what was to become the digital video disc or DVD. He was the recipient of the IEEE Edison Medal in 1980 “For many inventions in the fields of electronic beam tubes and ultrasonic devices, and for leadership in innovative research and development.” In 1981, he received the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society Achievement Award for “insight, innovation, and leadership given to ultrasonics technology.” Together with Eugene Polley and other Zenith engineers, he was honored in 1997 by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with an Emmy award for Zenith’s introduction of the first wireless TV remote controls 50 years ago. He was a charter inductee in the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame in 2000. Also in 2000, Dr. Adler was inducted into the National Academy of Arts and Sciences Chicago/Midwest Chapter’s “Silver Circle,” which recognizes “outstanding individuals who have devoted a quarter of a century or more to the television industry and have made a significant contribution to Chicago broadcasting.” He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. A lover of the arts, Dr. Adler was active in the Chicago cultural community for decades, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Masters of Baroque, and community theater. A world traveler for both business and pleasure, he was fluent in German, English and French. He was an active participant in a Chicago-area French Club for 35 years. One incident that is characteristic of Robert Adler. When sent to Moscow as a member of the IEEE delegation to the Popov Society Meeting in 1969, he learned Russian so that, as a goodwill gesture to his hosts, he could present his paper in their language. He was an avid reader. He loved his cats and laughter. He obtained his pilot license in the1950’s and was an enthusiastic flier. He was as passionate about hiking and skiing as he was about science and the arts. He was an avid downhill skier until age 89, and was still hiking in the past year. Robert Adler is survived by his wife Ingrid (nee Koch) Adler.[Editor’s Note: This biography was excerpted by Jan Brown from personal biographies written by Robert Adler over the years, two formal biographies written in 2000 and 2007 by John Taylor, LG Electronics USA, Inc., (Formerly, Zenith Electronics Corp.), the UFFC Archives, the IEEE History Center and a multitude of news stories found on the internet from all over the world.]

Harry F. Tiersten – Renowned Theoretician on Piezoelectric Plate Vibrations 1930 – 2006 Prof. Harry Tiersten, a faculty member of the Renssaeler Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering passed away suddenly from a heart attack on June 12, 2006. Professor Tiersten was an unusual combination of an outstanding researcher, a gifted lecturer and teacher, and a strong source of guidance and inspiration for his graduate students. He is considered to be one of the founders of the macroscopic theories of continuum electrodynamics. He is the author of two technical books and of many research papers published in technical journals. Harry F. Tiersten was born in 1930 and grew up in the Far Rockaway section of Queens, New York City. He received a B.S. degree in civil engineering in 1952, and went on to earn M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in engineering mechanics in 1956 and 1961. All three degrees were awarded by Columbia University. At Columbia, his graduate study and doctoral dissertation were carried out under the guidance of Prof. Raymond Mindlin. His professional career was spent primarily at two illustrious institutions. From 1961 to 1967, he was a member of the Technical Staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories (now the Lucent Corp.) at two locations, first at Whippany NJ and later at Murray Hill NJ. From 1967 until his death, he served on the faculty of RPI. Dr. Tiersten had a distinguished and internationally recognized career. One of his early contributions after joining Bell Telephone Laboratories was to write the theoretical section of ANSI/IEEE Std 176-1978, “Standard on Piezoelectricity”. His first book “Linear Piezoelectric Plate Vibrations”, published in 1969 by Plenum Press, has been a major reference on the theory of piezoelectric vibrations ever since its publication. After his earlier contributions to the linear theory of piezoelectricity, Dr. Tiersten went on to develop the theory of nonlinear electroelasticity for large deformations and strong fields, the linear theory for infinitesimal fields superposed on large biasing fields, and the perturbation theory for frequency shifts in piezoelectric resonators. In the areas just mentioned, these theories continue to influence the work of present day researchers. His contributions also extend to theories for general nonlinear interactions of elastic deformations with electromagnetic fields in continuous media, including thermal effects and conduction or semiconduction. His distinctive point of view in this area of work is presented in his second book, completed late in his career, “A Development of the Equations of Electromagnetism in Material Continua”, published by Springer-Verlag in 1990. He was also highly regarded in the mechanics community internationally. He is considered to be one of the founders of the study of macroscopic theories of continuum electrodynamics. His style was exemplary of Mindlin’s school of applied mechanics researchers, ranging from fundamental theories to applications in technology. For example, Dr. Tiersten’s work on the sensitivity of resonator frequency to acceleration done in the 1980s is crucial to satellite systems in use today. During his career, Dr. Tiersten was the recipient of a number of honors and awards. He was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the Acoustical Society of America, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was a member of the American Physical Society and the Society of Engineering Science organizations. He was the recipient of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (UFFC) Society C. B. Sawyer award in 1979, “for contributions to the theory of piezoelectric resonators”. He received the IEEE UFFC Society’s Achievement Award in 1993 “for developing several rational theories for analyzing the electroelastic behavior in anisotropic crystals, including piezoelectric, nonlinear and energy-trapping effects for bulk and surface acoustic waves”. He was awarded the Fellow membership grade of the IEEE in 1995 with the citation “for contributions to the analysis of thickness-shear quartz resonators and surface acoustic wave devices”. Dr. Tiersten is survived by his wife of 53 years, Helen, and by a daughter, Linda, and a son, Steven. Prof. Tiersten will be remembered as a man of great character and intellectual ability, with honesty and integrity as his core values. He will be missed by all who knew him; but his family, his former students, and his many friends can take some consolation in the fact that the work he has created will have an impact on the field of continuum mechanics far into the future.

George Samara was an internationally recognized scientist for his pioneering work on structural phase transformations involving ferroelectric materials. Through his research studies, he became perhaps the world’s most accomplished scientist in the use of high pressure for fundamental studies of the dielectric and structural properties of such materials. Although George was born in southern Lebanon in 1936, his father was a United States citizen. He came to the United States as a sixteen-year-old and graduated from the University of Oklahoma; then he went to the University of Illinois at Urbana where he earned a doctorate in chemical engineering in 1962. This was under the direction of Professor Harry Drickamer, who was a hard task-master. His thesis work as well as continued collaborations with Drickamer covered a wide range of materials. These include pressure effects on the resistance of metalloids, simple fcc and bcc, II-VI, III-V compounds to more exotic fused-ring aromatics. This collaboration with Drickamer continued into the 1970s. Later other co-authors also enjoyed such long enduring relationships, several extending over two and three decades. Even though a list of co-authors exceeds 70, George was also the single author of nearly 100 papers. Upon completing his degree at Illinois in 1962, he joined Sandia National Laboratory, but immediately fulfilled his military duty spending the next two years as an ROTC officer [Commissioned Lieutenant] at the Institute of Exploratory Research for the U. S. Army Electronics Laboratory at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. There he was able to continue research involving pressure effects on solids, including the pressure homogeneity of the sample in the pressure apparatus, and developed various techniques to measure the physical properties under pressure, such as compressibilities, electrical conductivities, dielectric constants, and Curie points. This effort was with Armando Giardini and others at Fort Monmouth. Also included was a paper in the area of what became of major importance to not only the entire world-wide research field, but also his personal research, as well as to Sandia- ferroelectrics. Returning to Sandia, George began and continued an active personal research effort up to the final days of his life. In fact he was investigating a promising new ferroelectric material when he passed away. George’s numerous scientific papers included pioneering work on structural phase transformations, semiconductor physics, ferroelectrics, ferroelectric polymers, nanosized semiconductor clusters, defects, deep electronic levels, relaxation in crystalline solids and polymers, ionic transport, ceramics, photovoltaics, and MBE and CVD synthesis and processing. Among the invited reviews are two chapters in Solid State Physics, “The Study of Soft Mode Transitions at High Pressure” with Paul Peercy and “High Pressure Studies of Ionic Conductivity in Solids”. Through this research effort, George became perhaps the world’s most accomplished scientist in the use of high pressure for fundamental studies of electronic and structural properties of solid state materials.
In high pressure science George was active in national and international organizations. He served as Vice President and Executive Committee of the International Association of High Pressure Science and Technology (AIRAPT); Chairman of the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Panel on High Pressure Science and Technology; Chairman 1974 Gordon Conference on Research at High Pressure; Co-Chair and Program Chairman of the 1993 Joint AIRAPT/American Physical Society Conference on High Pressure Science and Technology. George was awarded the Ipatieff Prize of the American Chemical Society. In 1986 he was elected to the [U.S.] National Academy of Engineering. He was a Fellow Member of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His activities also included editorial or advisory boards on Ferroelectrics, Reviews of Scientific Instruments, and Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids.Those of us who were familiar with George’s unusually accomplished research career as well as his extraordinary organizational ability to develop a host of national and international materials research activities might also realize he possessed excellent management skills. At Sandia National Laboratory, he was initially promoted in 1967 and served in various management capacities involving oversight of research in condensed matter physics, electronic materials and phenomena, chemistry research activities, advanced materials and nanoscience. His interaction, insight and support of those and other collaborating scientists led to world-wide recognition of excellence for various individuals and groups. George had a unique combination of deep scientific understanding and insight, foresight, friendliness, and personal and organizational leadership abilities. He was widely recognized for his high professional, ethical, and scientific standards that have inspired all who had contact with him. In addition to overseeing management of these research activities, George took on additional management responsibilities. During the last thirteen years of his career, he served as Manager of Sandia Laboratories DOE Basic Energy Sciences Materials. He was largely responsible for developing the concept for the DOE Center of Excellence for the Synthesis and Processing of Advanced Materials, a coordinated, cooperative venture among twelve national laboratories and several industrial and university partners, and he served as its Director. In this effort, he earned the admiration and respect from his colleagues at the other national laboratories and the materials research community for his unbiased even-handed coordination and leadership. Based on his technical management and leadership George was awarded the American Chemical Society’s Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Management in 2000. For amazing as his technical accomplishments were, George was much broader, a man for all seasons. In his younger days, he hiked the local New Mexico mountains as well as in the midrange of the Sierra Nevada in California. He was a respectful opponent in tennis. He visited Lebanon through the years; there he met and married his wife, Helen. Those that lived or visited Albuquerque enjoyed the Lebanese hospitality and food at their home. Fresh grapes, apricots, and particularly two varieties of figs were provided from his back yard. He enjoyed gardening, the arts, particularly music, and even wrote poetry for his church congregation. George was a gift to us all. He will be sorely missed.

John H. Sherman, Jr. – Quartz Crystal Industry Personality 1918 – 2006 John H. Sherman, Jr., a Lynchburg resident since January, 1959, died on April 7, 2006. His death was a consequence of an untreatable liver tumor. He was born at Lewis Gale Hospital on Aug 12, 1918, the son of John H Sherman of Ash Grove, VA and Mary Mosby Stephens Sherman of Christiansburg. Some of his many contributions to quartz crystal technology are documented in the Proceedings of the Frequency Control Symposium. In 1955 (vacuum tube days) he created the concept of “trim sensitivity,” while working as a components engineer. He then became a Quartz Crystal Engineer and transferred to the General Electric Mobile Radio Division in Lynchburg, Virginia. He worked on crystal resonators, monolithic filters, and surface wave filters. He was dedicated to the application of scientific study to the manufacturing process, to the point of using vacation time and paying his own way to crystal conferences before management saw the value in it. From 1969-1979 he was Chairman of EIA Working Group P5.4, the “EIA Technical Working Group for the Frequency Control Industry.” In 1980 he wrote the first interactive computer program for the design of AT resonators. He continued as a consultant after retiring from GE. His early education was primarily in the public schools of Illinois. He prepared himself to be a symphony orchestra musician studying French horn with Max Pottag, Alberto Stagliano, and Edward Murphy. He studied conducting with Clarke Kessler and Vladimir Bakaleinikoff.. At the advice of Bakaleinikoff he completed a regular college degree with majors in Mathematics and Chemistry at the University of Tampa. He was auditioning with the Buffalo Philharmonic when the Army called him and he was appointed first horn of the band at Byrd Field. The Army then reassigned him into the Army specialized training program (ASTP) at Lehigh University. Everyone who completed the course of study in this program was assigned into the Manhattan Engineering District. The ASTP was discontinued before he completed his course and he was assigned to the 3186th Signal Service Battalion in which he saw service in both the European and Far Eastern theaters. At the end of the war he returned to Lehigh University and completed a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering. After 3 years of teaching he took employment at General Electric Co. in Syracuse NY and spent 29 yrs with GE, 27 of them working with quartz crystal resonators. In Syracuse he participated in the revitalization of the Syracuse Symphony. When transferred to Lynchburg he was instrumental in the founding of the orchestra which has developed into the Lynchburg Symphony and has played under all six of the music directors of the symphony. He was on the board of Community Concerts for 33 years, President for 21 of them. He served on the board of the Academy of Music before it combined with the Fine Arts Center. Among his many accomplishments, he was selected Senior Elfun of the Year, awarded the national Piezoelectric Devices Man of the Year, and shot a hole in one on the 5th hole at Oakwood Country Club. He is survived by his wife, Marie, two daughters, Mary Sherman and Ida Cole, two grandchildren, Dr. Janis Taube (and husband Dr. Alexander Hillel) and H. Joseph Ramagli, III (and fiancée Emily Hornback), and by his sister, Frances Sherman Bailey, of Ridgewood, NJ. Extended family include Susan and Shawn Underwood, Michael Silvester, Matthew Silvester, Dan and Kelly Silvester, Christopher Silvester, Howard J. Ramagli, Jr., and Arthur Caisse. Memorial gifts may be sent to First Unitarian Church, 818 Court Street, Lynchburg, VA 24504 or Academy of Fine Arts, 600 Main Street, Lynchburg, VA 24504.