Emmett Finley Carter (July 1, 1901 - February 18, 1979) was an electrical engineer that worked at several companies; most notably, he was in upper management of Sylvania Electric Products and was the director, and later president, of

SRI International SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic ...

from 1956 to 1963.

Early life and education

Carter was born on July 1, 1901 in

Elgin, Texas Elgin ( ) is a city in Bastrop County in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 9,784 at the 2020 census. Elgin is also known as the Sausage Capital of Texas and the Brick Capital of the Southwest, due to the presence of three operating bric ...

to Alfred Hinds Carter and Jimmie Lucretia Stevens. He graduated from

Rice Institute The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. IRRI is known for its work ...

(in Houston, Texas) in 1922 with a degree in electrical engineering.

Early career

After graduation, he joined

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, where he developed high-power broadcast transmitters for WGY in Schenectady; KGO in Oakland; and KOA in Denver. He held a variety of positions, particularly in research and development, leaving the company in charge of a division. In 1929, Carter became the director of the radio division of United Research Corporation in New York, which was part of Warner Pictures. In this position, he designed Brunswick radios, circuits, and receivers, and held several patents covering his work during this period. He joined Sylvania Electric Products in September 1932 as a consulting engineer, and would eventually become assistant chief engineer; in February 1941, he organized a new industrial relations department of Sylvania, and was elected director of Sylvania in March, 1943. In 1945, Carter was named Vice President of Engineering and in 1952 he was named Vice President and Technical Director.

Later career

In 1954, Carter joined the Sanford Research Institute (SRI), now known as

, as a Manager of Research Operations, reporting to director Jesse E. Hobson; his duties focused on coordinating interdisciplinary research efforts, particularly the ones that involved both physical and life sciences, or both economics and engineering. In 1956, Carter became the director of SRI, and a member of its board of directors. In 1959, SRI reorganized its leadership structure, and Carter was named the organization's first president. In 1958, SRI established its Life Sciences division under

Bruce Graham Bruce John Graham (December 1, 1925 – March 6, 2010) was a Peruvian-American architect. Graham built buildings all over the world and was deeply involved with evolving the Burnham Plan of Chicago. Among his most notable buildings are the ...

. Carter was president until 1963, and retired from SRI in 1965.

Awards and memberships

Carter was a member of the

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...

, American Radio Relay League,

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

Eta Kappa Nu Eta Kappa Nu () or IEEE-HKN is the international honor society of the Computer Science and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). "The organization promotes excellence in the profession and in education through an emphasi ...

, and Tau Beta Pi. He was a fellow of the

Institute of Radio Engineers The Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until December 31, 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to form the Institute of Electrical ...

, and served on its board of directors. He was named an

IEEE Fellow As of 2019, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has 5,082 members designated Fellow, each of whom is associated with one of the 41 societies under the IEEE. The Fellow grade of membership is the highest level of membershi ...

in 1949, and received the

IEEE Founders Medal The IEEE Founders Medal is an award is presented for outstanding contributions in the leadership, planning, and administration of affairs of great value to the electrical and electronics engineering profession. It may be presented to an individual ...

in 1969 "for outstanding contributions to the electrical engineering profession and to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers through wise and imaginative leadership in the planning and administration of technical developments in electronics and telecommunications".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, E. Finley SRI International people Directors of SRI International General Electric people 1901 births 1979 deaths Rice University alumni Fellow Members of the IEEE People from Elgin, Texas