Richard E. Morley (December 1, 1932 – October 17, 2017) was an American mechanical engineer who was considered one of the "fathers" of the
programmable logic controller
A programmable logic controller (PLC) or programmable controller is an industrial computer that has been ruggedized and adapted for the control of manufacturing processes, such as assembly lines, machines, robotic devices, or any activity tha ...
(PLC) since he was involved with the production of the first PLC for
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, the Modicon, at Bedford and Associates in 1968. The Modicon brand of PLC is now owned by
Schneider Electric. The PLC has been recognized as a significant advancement in the practice of
automation, and has an important influence on
manufacturing.
Biography
He was born in
Clinton, Massachusetts, in 1932 and attended the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Legacy
An inventor, machinist, author, consultant and engineer, his peers have acknowledged his contributions with numerous awards from groups such as the International Society of Automation (ISA), the Instrumentation Systems and Automation Society,
Inc. magazine, the
Franklin Institute, the
Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and the
Engineering Society of Detroit
The Engineering Society of Detroit (also known as ESD) is a regional engineering association, headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, serving engineers and related technical professionals in Southeast Michigan. The Society was founded in 1895 by ...
. He was also inducted into the Manufacturing Hall of Fame.
SME offers the Richard E. Morley Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award for outstanding technical accomplishments in the manufacturing profession by engineers age 35 and under.
Morley worked out of his barn in
New Hampshire where he and his wife had provided a home to 40 foster children. He died on October 17, 2017, in New Hampshire.
A Legend Passes: Dick Morley Died Today
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Awards
* 2016 Inducted into the Measurement, Control & Automation Hall of Fame by the Measurement, Control & Automation Association (MCAA)
* 2016 Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2007–2008 SME Manufacturing Enterprise Council Member
* 2006–2008 NH Judge - Hi Tech Council Product of the Year
* 2006 Process Automation Hall of Fame (Control magazine)
* 2005 SME Board of Directors
* 1996 Automation Hall of Fame Prometheus Award
* 1995 SME Fellow
* 1993 Parallel Processor Design — Flavors
* 1991 Howard N. Potts Medal
* 1990 Entrepreneur of the Year
* 1981 Gould Science & Engineering Fellow
* Boeing Technical Excellence Award
See also
* Odo Josef Struger
Odo Josef Struger (August 12, 1931 – December 8, 1998) was an Austrian pioneer in modern-day automation.
Early life
Struger was born in 1931 in Unterloibl. This is a town in the municipality of Ferlach in Carinthia of Austria. He moved to t ...
References
External links
Interview with Dick Morley
The father of invention: Dick Morley looks back on the 40th anniversary of the PLC
YouTube channel with stories by Dick Morley
Morley obituary
at WSJ, Nov. 10, 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Dick
1932 births
2017 deaths
American electrical engineers
20th-century American inventors
Howard N. Potts Medal recipients
Programmable logic controllers
People from Clinton, Massachusetts