Winston E. Kock
Encyclopedia
Winston Kock was the first Director of NASA Electronics Research Center
(NASA ERC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts from September 1, 1964 to October 1, 1966. The Center was created for multidisciplinary scientific research, proximity to certain colleges, proximity to a local air force research facility, and was perceived as part of the nation's cold war effort.
He was an American electrical engineer, researcher, musician, and under the pseudonym Wayne Kirk, a novelist. Kock also wrote books about topics in engineering and acoustics. These included radar, sonar, holography, and lasers.
Kock's seminal research in artificial dielectrics, carried out at AT&T Bell Laboratories
in the 1940s, is a historical connection to metamaterials
.
and continued studying piano and organ at the Cincinnati College of Music. In the 1930s, as partial fulfillment of his bachelor's degree, he built an electronic organ. He used the more economical neon glow tubes for his electronic organ rather than radio vacuum tubes
as sources for tones. In 1932 he received his BSc degree in electrical engineering
.
For his master degree thesis Kock grappled with the problem of pitch stabilization for 70 neon tubes in an electronic organ. In 1933 received his Master of Science degree.
In 1934, he received his Ph.D. in experimental and theoretical physics from the University of Berlin. His examiners were professors Max von Laue
and Arthur Wehnelt
. As part of the thesis, Kock, together with another candidate, developed an improved design for an electronic organ based on the formant
principle.
Kock was a researcher for Bell Laboratories. Part of his work there involved artificial dielectrics. He proposed metallic and wire lenses for antennas. Some of these are the metallic delay lens, parallel-wire lens, and the wire mesh lens. In addition, he conducted analytical studies regarding the response of customized metallic particles to a quasistatic
electromagnetic radiation. Kock noted behaviors and structure in these artificial materials.
Before becoming Director of NASA Electronics Research Center
he was vice-president research of the Bendix Corp., Detroit. After leaving the Director's position, he returned to Bendix as vice-president and chief scientist. He continued at NASA
as a member of the Administration Committee.
. He also researched holography
, gamma ray
s, semiconductors, picture phone and artificial dielectrics
. His work in artificial dielectrics preceded metamaterials by approximately 50 years.
He also authored Applications of Holography (Proceedings of United States-Japan Seminar on Information Processing by Holography, held in Washington, D.C., October 13–18, 1969).
Below is a list of some of Kock's published research:
Electronics Research Center
The Electronics Research Center , was a NASA research facility located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, across the street from MIT at Kendall Square. The ERC opened in September 1964, taking over the administration of contracts, grants, and other NASA business in New England from the antecedent North...
(NASA ERC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts from September 1, 1964 to October 1, 1966. The Center was created for multidisciplinary scientific research, proximity to certain colleges, proximity to a local air force research facility, and was perceived as part of the nation's cold war effort.
He was an American electrical engineer, researcher, musician, and under the pseudonym Wayne Kirk, a novelist. Kock also wrote books about topics in engineering and acoustics. These included radar, sonar, holography, and lasers.
Kock's seminal research in artificial dielectrics, carried out at AT&T Bell Laboratories
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
in the 1940s, is a historical connection to metamaterials
History of metamaterials
History of metamaterials shares a common history with artificial dielectrics in microwave engineering, as it developed just after World War II. However, there are seminal explorations of artificial materials for manipulating electromagnetic waves at the end of the 19th century...
.
Education
At age four Kock started learning piano, and by high school he could play full recitals. In college he began composing music. He then took electrical engineering courses at the University of CincinnatiUniversity of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
and continued studying piano and organ at the Cincinnati College of Music. In the 1930s, as partial fulfillment of his bachelor's degree, he built an electronic organ. He used the more economical neon glow tubes for his electronic organ rather than radio vacuum tubes
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
as sources for tones. In 1932 he received his BSc degree in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
.
For his master degree thesis Kock grappled with the problem of pitch stabilization for 70 neon tubes in an electronic organ. In 1933 received his Master of Science degree.
In 1934, he received his Ph.D. in experimental and theoretical physics from the University of Berlin. His examiners were professors Max von Laue
Max von Laue
Max Theodor Felix von Laue was a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914 for his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals...
and Arthur Wehnelt
Arthur Wehnelt
Arthur Rudolph Berthold Wehnelt was a German physicist, noted for important contributions in the fields of X-ray physics, gas discharges and electron emission.-Life:...
. As part of the thesis, Kock, together with another candidate, developed an improved design for an electronic organ based on the formant
Formant
Formants are defined by Gunnar Fant as 'the spectral peaks of the sound spectrum |P|' of the voice. In speech science and phonetics, formant is also used to mean an acoustic resonance of the human vocal tract...
principle.
Career
Kock was a researcher for Bell Laboratories. Part of his work there involved artificial dielectrics. He proposed metallic and wire lenses for antennas. Some of these are the metallic delay lens, parallel-wire lens, and the wire mesh lens. In addition, he conducted analytical studies regarding the response of customized metallic particles to a quasistatic
Quasistatic
Quasistatic can refer to:* Quasistatic process* Quasistatic equilibrium* Quasistatic loading* Quasistatic approximation...
electromagnetic radiation. Kock noted behaviors and structure in these artificial materials.
Before becoming Director of NASA Electronics Research Center
Electronics Research Center
The Electronics Research Center , was a NASA research facility located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, across the street from MIT at Kendall Square. The ERC opened in September 1964, taking over the administration of contracts, grants, and other NASA business in New England from the antecedent North...
he was vice-president research of the Bendix Corp., Detroit. After leaving the Director's position, he returned to Bendix as vice-president and chief scientist. He continued at NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
as a member of the Administration Committee.
Research
He continued work in electronic music engineering from the age of electronic tubes all the way to the invention of the transistorTransistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
. He also researched holography
Holography
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
, gamma ray
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
s, semiconductors, picture phone and artificial dielectrics
Artificial dielectrics
Artificial dielectrics are artificial electromagnetic materials consisting of arrayed, synthetic substances. The arrays themselves, and the distances between synthetic substances are usually evenly spaced on, or within, a substrate. Hence, the arrays of inclusions are in a periodic or lattice...
. His work in artificial dielectrics preceded metamaterials by approximately 50 years.
Patents
Kock received over 200 patents in electrical and acoustic engineering fields.- In 1935 Kock applied for a patent describing formant circuits in an electronic organ.
- Electrical Organ W. E. KOCK et al., Patent number: 2233948; Filing date: Mar 17, 1938; Issue date: Mar 4, 1941
- Oscillation Generator: Patent number: 2400309; Filing date: Oct 31, 1941; Issue date: May 14, 1946
- Electrical musical instrument: Patent number: 2328282; Filing date: Apr 23, 1941; Issue date: Aug 31, 1943
- Metallic structure for delaying unpolarized waves: Patent number: 2577619; Filing date: May 16, 1947; Issue date: Dec 4, 1951.
- Two-way television over telephone Lines. Patent number: 2895005; Filing date: Sep 30, 1954; Issue date: Jul 14, 1959.
Books
Kock wrote several books including Sound Waves and Light Waves (1965), Lasers and Holography (1981), Seeing Sound (1972), Radar, Sonar and Holography (1974), and The Creative Engineer: the art of inventing (1978).He also authored Applications of Holography (Proceedings of United States-Japan Seminar on Information Processing by Holography, held in Washington, D.C., October 13–18, 1969).
Published research
At the Fortieth Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (November 9, 10, and 11, 1950) Kock, along with a colleague, contributed research results pertaining to "a photographic method using mechanical scanning for displaying the space patterns of sound and microwaves..." :Below is a list of some of Kock's published research: