Howard Vollum, (1913–1986) an engineer, scientist, and philanthropist, was the co-founder of
TektronixTektronix, Inc. is a North American company best known for its test and measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. As of November 2007, Tektronix is a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation....
Corporation, and endowed the Vollum Institute.
Howard Vollum was born on May 31 1913, in
Portland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
. He attended Portland's Catholic Columbia University (now
University of PortlandThe University of Portland is a private Roman Catholic university located in Portland, Oregon. It is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross and is the sister school of the University of Notre Dame. Founded in 1901, UP has a student body of about 3,200 students...
) from 1931 to 1933, but transferred to
Reed CollegeReed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a four-year residential college with a campus located in Portland's residential Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a...
in 1934, where in 1936 he received a Bachelor of Arts in Physics. His undergraduate thesis was the creation of a new kind of cathode-ray
oscilloscopeAn oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows signal voltages to be viewed, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences plotted as a function of time or of some other voltage...
.
Upon graduation from college, he spent several years servicing and installing radios and experimenting with electronic devices.
Howard Vollum, (1913–1986) an engineer, scientist, and philanthropist, was the co-founder of
TektronixTektronix, Inc. is a North American company best known for its test and measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. As of November 2007, Tektronix is a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation....
Corporation, and endowed the Vollum Institute.
Background
Howard Vollum was born on May 31 1913, in
Portland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
. He attended Portland's Catholic Columbia University (now
University of PortlandThe University of Portland is a private Roman Catholic university located in Portland, Oregon. It is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross and is the sister school of the University of Notre Dame. Founded in 1901, UP has a student body of about 3,200 students...
) from 1931 to 1933, but transferred to
Reed CollegeReed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a four-year residential college with a campus located in Portland's residential Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a...
in 1934, where in 1936 he received a Bachelor of Arts in Physics. His undergraduate thesis was the creation of a new kind of cathode-ray
oscilloscopeAn oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows signal voltages to be viewed, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences plotted as a function of time or of some other voltage...
.
Upon graduation from college, he spent several years servicing and installing radios and experimenting with electronic devices. From 1940 to 1941 he was Supervisor of the Radio Project,
NYANYA as an abbreviation may refer to:*National Youth Agency*North Yarmouth Academy*National Youth Administration*New York Airways*New York and Atlantic Railway*Nya, a letter in Jawi writing system...
, in Portland. Vollum served as an officer in the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
Signal CorpsThe Signal Corps is a military branch, usually subordinate to a country's army, responsible for the military communications .Many countries have a Signal Corps, whose main function is usually communication .* Signal Corps , founded in 1860 by Major Albert J...
from 1942 to 1946, serving in England and New Jersey on artillery fire control radar. He was later awarded the
Legion of MeritThe Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued both to United States military personnel and to military and political figures...
for this work.
Vollum died on February 5, 1986. His wife, Jean Vollum, continued to serve on the Tektronix board of directors until mandatory retirement at age 70, and continued philanthropy until her death in 2007. Vollum is survived by his five sons.
Tektronix
In 1945, Vollum co-founded
TektronixTektronix, Inc. is a North American company best known for its test and measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. As of November 2007, Tektronix is a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation....
with Jack Murdock, stating its purpose in the articles of incorporation as: "to install, repair, service and sell, purchase, manufacture and otherwise acquire and deal in radio and other instruments." By 1951, the company had 300 employees and sales of $4 million; by 1959, there were 3,000 employees with sales at $32 million. Tektronix had become the leading oscilloscopes and test equipment manufacturer, a position that held up until the 1970s.
The Vollum Institute
Vollum's innate interest in science also drew him to the neuroscience laboratories at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) where he knew his oscilloscope could be applied to healthcare research. He developed an interest in experiments measuring bio-electrical phenomena, and this ultimately provided his philanthropic motivation and led Vollum to endow an institute for advanced biomedical research at OHSU.
Other activities
Vollum supported many other Oregon educational institutions including
Reed CollegeReed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a four-year residential college with a campus located in Portland's residential Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a...
in Portland, Oregon where he has a prominent academic building and student activity program in his name. Vollum helped found the
Oregon Graduate InstituteThe OGI School of Science and Engineering, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States is one of the four schools of the Oregon Health and Science University . Until June 2001, it functioned independently as a public graduate school, the Oregon Graduate Institute . OGI operates four departments and...
(now part of OHSU) in 1965 with a $2 million grant, and upon his death in 1986, he bequeathed $14.8 million to the college as an endowment.
Howard and Jean Vollum also funded the construction of the Library Building at Mt. Angel Abbey in Mount Angel, Oregon. This award winning building was one of very few buildings in the United States designed by the Finnish architect
Alvar AaltoHugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer, sometimes called the "Father of Modernism" in the nordic countries. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
and remains today a remarkable architectural accomplishment.
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