Bernard M. Oliver (May 17, 1916 – November 23, 1995), also known as Barney Oliver, was a

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

who made contributions in many fields, including

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, and computers. He was the founder and director of Hewlett Packard ( HP) laboratories until his retirement in 1981. He is also a recognized pioneer in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Oliver was president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1965. In 1986, Oliver was a

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

recipient for

Engineering Science Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...

and on February 11, 2004 it was announced that Oliver had been inducted into the

National Inventors Hall of Fame The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also oper ...

. Oliver was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1973, received the National Medal of Science in 1986, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2004. The asteroid (2177) Oliver is named after him.

Early years

Worked at

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial Research and development, research and scientific developm ...

HP Labs

Founded HP Labs and worked there four decades.

Scientific contributions

* Developed

pulse-code modulation Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, compact discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications. In a PCM Stream (comp ...

(PCM) with

John R. Pierce John Robinson Pierce (March 27, 1910 – April 2, 2002), was an American engineer and author. He did extensive work concerning radio communication, microwave technology, computer music, psychoacoustics, and science fiction. Additionally to his ...

and

Claude Shannon Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American mathematician, electrical engineer, and cryptographer known as a "father of information theory". As a 21-year-old master's degree student at the Massachusetts Inst ...

* Headed the HP calculators development team

Chairs, foundations, and awards

* In 2004 he was inducted into The National Inventors Hall of Fame. * In 1997 the SETI Institute established a newly endowed position, the Bernard M. Oliver Chair. * Bernard Oliver Memorial Fund''Bernard Oliver Memorial Fund''
/ref> *

List of National Medal of Science winners The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the following six fields: behavioral scien ...

, Engineering 1986 *

Oliver Observing Station Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', List of books in The Railway Series#Oliver the Western Engine, volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * ''Oliver Twist'', a nove ...

, observatory of the

Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

* IEEE Lamme Medal (1977)

References

External links