Louis Ridenour
Encyclopedia
Dr. Louis N. Ridenour was a physicist instrumental in U.S. development of radar, Vice President of Lockheed, and an advisor to President Eisenhower.
.
Co-leader with Ivan A. Getting
of the group that developed the SCR-584.
First chief scientist of the Air Force
Served on the Scientific Advisory Committee for Ballistic Research Laboratories, Aberdeen Proving Ground
,
Chairman of the National Security Agency
Scientific Advisory Board Panel on Electronics and Data Processing from its inception 27 January 1959 until his death in May.
Theodore von Karman Award, by the Air Force Association
, 1960
In 1941 he became the assistant director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radiation Laboratory and helped transform
primitive radar into a reliable defensive and offensive military tool. In 1946 Dr. Ridenour returned to the University of Pennsylvania for one year and then in 1947 he became dean of the Graduate College of the University of Illinois. During the next three years as dean, he was instrumental in establishing the Control Systems Laboratory, the Digital Computer Laboratory, and the Radio Carbon Laboratory, as well as a microbiology group and solid state group.
Dr. Ridenour died of a brain hemorrhage at age 47.
Along with Gilbert W. King, Edwin L. Hughes, and George W. Brown, Ridenour patented an information storage system which combined optical disk storage of large capacity and a magnetic drum memory of low capacity. The write-once-read-many optical disk memory would be updated monthly, and recently changed data is held on the re-writable magnetic drum memory.
2,843,655 Subscription Television with Scrambled Transmission and Marquee and Barker
2,843,841 Information Storage System
2,875,269 Video Scrambling and Unscrambling System
2,918,522 Subscription Television Distribution System
2,972,008 Coding Methods and System
Contributed to Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Biography and positions Held
During World War II, Ridenour worked at the MIT Radiation LaboratoryRadiation Laboratory
The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts and functioned from October 1940 until December 31, 1945...
.
Co-leader with Ivan A. Getting
Ivan A. Getting
Ivan Alexander Getting was an American physicist and electrical engineer, credited with the development of the Global Positioning System...
of the group that developed the SCR-584.
First chief scientist of the Air Force
Served on the Scientific Advisory Committee for Ballistic Research Laboratories, Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground is a United States Army facility located near Aberdeen, Maryland, . Part of the facility is a census-designated place , which had a population of 3,116 at the 2000 census.- History :...
,
Chairman of the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
Scientific Advisory Board Panel on Electronics and Data Processing from its inception 27 January 1959 until his death in May.
Theodore von Karman Award, by the Air Force Association
Air Force Association
The Air Force Association is an independent, 501 non-profit, civilian education organization, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia...
, 1960
In 1941 he became the assistant director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radiation Laboratory and helped transform
primitive radar into a reliable defensive and offensive military tool. In 1946 Dr. Ridenour returned to the University of Pennsylvania for one year and then in 1947 he became dean of the Graduate College of the University of Illinois. During the next three years as dean, he was instrumental in establishing the Control Systems Laboratory, the Digital Computer Laboratory, and the Radio Carbon Laboratory, as well as a microbiology group and solid state group.
Dr. Ridenour died of a brain hemorrhage at age 47.
Major contributions
Ridenour led the development of airborne microwave radar nicknamed "Micky" which allowed bombing through clouds.Along with Gilbert W. King, Edwin L. Hughes, and George W. Brown, Ridenour patented an information storage system which combined optical disk storage of large capacity and a magnetic drum memory of low capacity. The write-once-read-many optical disk memory would be updated monthly, and recently changed data is held on the re-writable magnetic drum memory.
Patents
2,473,175 Radio-Direction-Finding System2,843,655 Subscription Television with Scrambled Transmission and Marquee and Barker
2,843,841 Information Storage System
2,875,269 Video Scrambling and Unscrambling System
2,918,522 Subscription Television Distribution System
2,972,008 Coding Methods and System
Publications
Author of Radar System Engineering, volume 1 of MIT Radiation Laboratory Series. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1947.Contributed to Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is a nontechnical online magazine that covers global security and public policy issues, especially related to the dangers posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction...