Robert Price (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Price. Born in West Chester, Pennsylvania
. An American electrical engineer, known best for his research in spread spectrum
and radar
technology.
Price majored in physics
from Princeton University
followed by Sc.D. from M.I.T. (1953).
He was involved in creating the Rake receiver
(with Paul Green
) and supervision of its deployment in a first-ever spread-spectrum system, the Lincoln F9C (1950).
Following his studies, Price and Green (at Lincoln Laboratories), attempted to bounce radar
waves off the planet Venus
(1958). With Gordon Pettengill
, the two of them worked out a theory of range-Doppler
mapping that was used on the Magellan probe
mapping of Venus
' surface twenty years later.
Robert Price was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
(1985).
West Chester, Pennsylvania
The Borough of West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Marsh Creek State Park, and other historical attractions are near West Chester...
. An American electrical engineer, known best for his research in spread spectrum
Spread spectrum
Spread-spectrum techniques are methods by which a signal generated in a particular bandwidth is deliberately spread in the frequency domain, resulting in a signal with a wider bandwidth...
and radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
technology.
Price majored in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
followed by Sc.D. from M.I.T. (1953).
He was involved in creating the Rake receiver
Rake receiver
A rake receiver is a radio receiver designed to counter the effects of multipath fading. It does this by using several "sub-receivers" called fingers, that is, several correlators each assigned to a different multipath component...
(with Paul Green
Paul Green (engineer)
Paul Eliot Green, Jr. is an American electrical engineer, famous for his research in spread spectrum and radar technology. He was the son of playwright Paul Green....
) and supervision of its deployment in a first-ever spread-spectrum system, the Lincoln F9C (1950).
Following his studies, Price and Green (at Lincoln Laboratories), attempted to bounce radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
waves off the planet Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
(1958). With Gordon Pettengill
Gordon Pettengill
Gordon Pettengill is a noted American radio astronomer and planetary physicist.-Early life and education:Pettengill was born in Providence, Rhode Island. As a young man he was enthralled with radio and electronics, taking apart and building old radios...
, the two of them worked out a theory of range-Doppler
Doppler radar
A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that makes use of the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by beaming a microwave signal towards a desired target and listening for its reflection, then analyzing how the frequency of the returned signal has been...
mapping that was used on the Magellan probe
Magellan probe
The Magellan spacecraft, also referred to as the Venus Radar Mapper, was a 1,035-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on May 4, 1989, to map the surface of Venus using Synthetic Aperture Radar and measure the planetary gravity...
mapping of Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
' surface twenty years later.
Robert Price was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
(1985).
Awards
- National Academy of EngineeringNational Academy of EngineeringThe National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
Fellow Award "For contributions to communication system theory and its use in radar contact with Venus" - IEEE Communications Society Edwin Howard Armstrong Achievement Award (1981)
- Information Theory Society Golden Jubilee Paper Award for "A Useful Theorem for nonlinear devices having Gaussian inputs" (1988)