Harold Alden Wheeler (May 10, 1903 - April 25, 1996) was a noted

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Biography

Wheeler was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

, to William Archibald Wheeler and Harriet Marie Alden Wheeler (a descendant of John and Priscilla Alden), graduated in 1925 from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and was awarded the Ruggles Prize for excellence in Mathematics. Subsequently he studied physics at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

until 1928. During his education he worked part-time at the

National Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...

' Radio Laboratory, then from 1922 onwards with Prof.

Louis Alan Hazeltine Louis Alan Hazeltine (August 7, 1886 – May 24, 1964) was an engineer and physicist, the inventor of the Neutrodyne circuit, and the Hazeltine-Fremodyne Superregenerative circuit. He was the founder of the Hazeltine Corporation. Biography Lo ...

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

after discovering that they had independently invented the

Neutrodyne The Neutrodyne radio receiver, invented in 1922 by Louis Hazeltine, was a particular type of tuned radio frequency (TRF) receiver, in which the instability-causing inter-electrode capacitance of the triode RF tubes is cancelled out or "neutrali ...

receiver. (It entered large-scale production in 1923, and was the dominant receiver for most of the 1920s.) In 1924 he became

Hazeltine Corporation Hazeltine Corporation was a defense electronics company which is now part of BAE Systems Inc. History 1924–1986 The company was founded in 1924 by investors to exploit the Neutrodyne patent of Dr. Louis Alan Hazeltine. Headquartered in Gre ...

's first employee, and in 1925 created the first radio receiver with a diode automatic volume control that maintained a constant sound level while tuning to broadcasts of differing strengths. AM radio receivers incorporating this circuit came into use about 1930, and it has been included in every set since. He led the Hazeltine laboratory 1930-1939, and during this time received patents for 126 inventions on a wide range of work including circuits, test equipment, acoustics, antennas,

transmission line In electrical engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable or other structure designed to conduct electromagnetic waves in a contained manner. The term applies when the conductors are long enough that the wave nature of the transmi ...

s, methods of calculation for inductance of coils (included in all relevant textbooks since the mid-1930s), skin effect, coupled circuit theory,

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 ...

scanning theory, and analysis and design of wide-band TV amplifiers. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Wheeler led work on Identification friend or foe (IFF) antennas for aircraft, surface vessels, submarines, and ground stations. By war's end, these "lifesaver antennas" had been placed on all Allied ships. In 1946 he founded Wheeler Laboratories, Inc., to develop

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ra ...

circuits and antennas for missile systems tracking and guidance radar. In 1959, when it became a Hazeltine subsidiary, he was named a Hazeltine director and vice-president. All told, Wheeler held 180 United States patents and received over fifty awards. He was a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

, 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 ...

(1927) and of the

American Institute of Electrical Engineers The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States-based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Insti ...

(1946), and awarded the

IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award The initially called Morris Liebmann Memorial Prize provided by the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE), the IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award was created in 1919 in honor of Colonel Morris N. Liebmann. It was initially given to awardees who h ...

in 1940 "for his contribution to the analysis of wide-band high-frequency circuits particularly suitable for television", and the

IEEE Medal of Honor The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, when its first recipient was Major Edwin H. Armstrong. It is given for an exceptional contributio ...

in 1964 "for his analyses of the fundamental limitations on the resolution in television systems and on wideband amplifiers, and for his basic contributions to the theory and development of antennas, microwave elements, circuits, and receivers." He was also a member of

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 ...

, Tau Beta Pi, and the Defense Science Board.

References

National Academy of Engineering memorial

IEEE History Center biography
* Frederik Nebeker, "Harold Alden Wheeler: a Lifetime of Applied Electronics", ''Proceedings of the IEEE'', August 1992.
IEEE Oral history interview

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Harold Alden 1903 births 1996 deaths American electrical engineers Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni IEEE Medal of Honor recipients Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Microwave engineers