American Science and Engineering Inc, (AS&E) is an American manufacturer of advanced

X-ray X-rays (or rarely, ''X-radiation'') are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. In many languages, it is referred to as Röntgen radiation, after the German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who discovered it in 1895 and named it ' ...

equipment and related technologies, founded in 1958 by Martin Annis, PHd. Annis asked

George W. Clark George Whipple Clark (1928-2023) was an American astronomer and professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. When he retired, M.I.T. described him as "a central figure in the development of high-energy astrophysics, particular ...

to join him in starting his company. Their primary work in the beginning was as a developer for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

. Annis brought on as Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bruno Rossi, PhD, of Bruno Rossi of MIT to help guide their efforts. Rossi had earlier confirmed the existence of cosmic rays, and postulated that black holes would emit tremendous bursts of cosmic radiation as they swallowed celestial objects. At the urging of Rossi, Annis brought on board

Riccardo Giacconi Riccardo Giacconi ( , ; October 6, 1931 – December 9, 2018) was an Italian-American Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist who laid down the foundations of X-ray astronomy. He was a professor at the Johns Hopkins University. Biography Born in ...

, from Italy, to work on the effort to develop a detector. As a consultant to American Science and Engineering, Inc., Rossi initiated the rocket experiments that discovered the first extra-solar source of X-rays, Scorpius X-1. Despite Rossi's pivotal discoveries and work in this area, in 2002 Richardo Giacconi alone won the Nobel Prize for its discovery and invention

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

. The AS&E team made possible the

Einstein Observatory Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) was the first fully imaging X-ray telescope put into space and the second of NASA's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories. Named HEAO B before launch, the observatory's name was changed to honor Albert E ...

(equipped with the first full imaging X-ray telescope on board a satellite, launched in 1978). Throughout his tenure as president of AS&E (from its inception in 1958 until he left in 1993), Annis was a leading inventor/scientist for the company, including inventing the backscatter technology, which enabled the detection of plastic explosives, he also invented the body scanner, originally developed as a machine to detect contraband in/on people for prisons, but later adopted for use in airports. Body scanners are now standard as part of pre-boarding security screenings in airports around the world. AS&E also produced the first 4th generation CT scanner for commercial use in 1976

The development of focusing optics for soft X-rays led also to rocket-borne solar observations, the later

Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operation ...

space station, and several successive solar observatory satellites (e.g.,

Yohkoh Yohkoh (, ''Sunbeam'' in Japanese), known before launch as Solar-A, was a Solar observatory spacecraft of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (Japan), in collaboration with space agencies in the United States and the United King ...

and Hinode). These observations enabled major steps forward in our understanding of the physics of the

solar corona A corona ( coronas or coronae) is the outermost layer of a star's atmosphere. It consists of plasma. The Sun's corona lies above the chromosphere and extends millions of kilometres into outer space. It is most easily seen during a total sola ...

and of

plasma astrophysics Astrophysical plasma is plasma outside of the Solar System. It is studied as part of astrophysics and is commonly observed in space. The accepted view of scientists is that much of the baryonic matter in the universe exists in this state. When ...

in general. AS&E provides both transmission X-ray and

backscatter X-ray Backscatter X-ray is an advanced X-ray imaging technology. Traditional X-ray machines detect hard and soft materials by the variation in x-ray intensity transmitted through the target. In contrast, backscatter X-ray detects the radiation that r ...

, equipment for airports, seaports, critical infrastructures, border crossings and other locations where security scanning is required. AS&E has also developed a mobile backscatter X-ray van (ZBV). In June 2016,

OSI Systems OSI Systems, Inc. is an American company based in California that develops and markets security and inspection systems such as airport security X-ray machines and metal detectors, medical monitoring and anesthesia systems, and optoelectronic d ...

offered to purchase the company for $269 million, After approval by regulators and shareholders, the deal competed before the end of 2016. In the 12 months ending March 31, AS&E made $64 million profit on $278 million revenue.

References

External links

American Science and Engineering website
X-ray equipment manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Massachusetts Companies based in Billerica, Massachusetts American companies established in 1958 Manufacturing companies established in 1958 1958 establishments in Massachusetts Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq 2016 mergers and acquisitions {{US-manufacturing-company-stub