Diogenes James Angelakos (July 3, 1919 – June 7, 1997) was an American electrical engineer and professor emeritus of electronic engineering at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, who served as the director of the Electronics Research Laboratory for 20 years. He is credited with building up the research group into one of the university's biggest research labs. He is considered a pioneer in the fields of

microwaves Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz an ...

antennas In radio-frequency engineering, an antenna (American English) or aerial (British English) is an electronic device that converts an alternating electric current into radio waves (transmitting), or radio waves into an electric current (receivi ...

and

electromagnetic wave In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is a self-propagating wave of the electromagnetic field that carries momentum and radiant energy through space. It encompasses a broad spectrum, classified by frequency or its inverse, wavelength, ...

Engineering career

He graduated from

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1942 and then receives his M.S. (1946) and Ph.D. (1950) in the same field from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. In 1964, he was appointed director of the Electronics Research Laboratory at the

. He was a Fellow, and later a Life Fellow, of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

and an honorary member of the Hellenic Physical Society. Among his awards were the "Greek Independence Medal for Technical Assistance to Greek Science", the "Axion Award of the Hellenic-American Professional Society of California" and an award from the Directors of the Joint Services Electronic Program of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

. He was also recipient of the Berkeley Citation, the University of California, Berkeley's highest award.

Unabomber victim

On July 2, 1982, Angelakos was the victim of a

pipe bomb A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device (IED) that uses a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively larg ...

left by

Ted Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; May 22, 1942 – June 10, 2023), also known as the Unabomber ( ), was an American mathematician and domestic terrorist. He was a mathematics prodigy, but abandoned his academic career in 1969 to pursue a reclusi ...

, the "Unabomber", at an electrical engineering and computer science faculty lounge in Cory Hall. He was injured in the face and right hand, but recovered nearly completely. After surgery he was able to re-learn how to write, but the powder burns left by the bomb were permanent. Fourteen years on, he expressed bafflement at the bomber's motives, saying that "If someone has a message to give to the world, you can't get it across by killing people. I just don't understand him at all. He must have some mental problems." Three years later, he was among the first people on the scene and administered

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

when another of Kaczynski's bombs exploded and injured Berkeley graduate student John E. Hauser, a

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

captain. Angelakos used his

necktie A necktie, long tie, or simply a tie, is a cloth article of formal neckwear or office attire worn for decorative or symbolic purposes, resting under a folded shirt collar or knotted at the throat, and usually draped down the chest. On rare o ...

as a

tourniquet A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to create ischemia or stopping the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation. A simple tourniquet can ...

to stem the bleeding in Hauser's arm.

Personal life

Angelakos was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

of Greek immigrant parents. He and his wife Helen Hatzilambrou were married for 36 years until her death on August 1, 1982. They had two children. He died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

at his home in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

in 1997. He was an adherent of the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelakos, Diogenes James 1919 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American engineers American electrical engineers Electrical engineering academics Engineers from Illinois Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni American microwave engineers Survivors of terrorist attacks UC Berkeley College of Engineering faculty Unabomber targets Notre Dame College of Engineering alumni Deaths from prostate cancer in California Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States American people of Greek descent American scientists with disabilities