Ronold Wyeth Percival King (September 19, 1905 – April 10, 2006) was an American applied physicist and

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

, known for his contributions to the theory and application of

microwave antenna A microwave antenna is a physical transmission device used to send and receive microwaves between two or more locations. In addition to broadcasting, antennas are also used in radar, radio astronomy and electronic warfare. Microwave frequency ...

s. He published twelve books and over three hundred articles in his area, as well as mentoring one hundred doctoral dissertations..

Life

Born in

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

, he moved to

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, where his father worked as a professor of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. His mother, Edith Seyerlen, was originally from

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. He earned an A.B. (1927) and S.M. (1929) degree in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

. He was an exchange student at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

(1928–29) and attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

(1929–30), before completing his graduate studies at

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

(1932) where he obtained a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

on the thesis ''Characteristics of Vacuum Tube Circuits Having Distributed Constants at Ultra-Radio Frequencies'' advised by Edward Bennett and subsequently was a research assistant (1932–34). King was an instructor and assistant professor in physics at

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

(1934–37), and a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

overseas (1937, 1958). He joined

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 ...

as an instructor (1938), as assistant professor (1939), associate (1942), and as Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics (1946–72, taken over by his former student

Tai Tsun Wu Tai Tsun Wu (, December 1, 1933 – July 19, 2024) was a Chinese-born American physicist and writer well known for his contributions to high-energy nuclear physics and statistical mechanics. He was married to experimental physicist Sau Lan Wu. ...

), and professor emeritus (1972). He resided at

Winchester, Massachusetts Winchester is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north of downtown Boston as part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. It is also one of the List of Massachusetts locations by per capit ...

, and wrote the autobiography ''A Man of the Twentieth Century''.Book available online
from the

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

Antennas and Propagation Society His research group at Harvard spent the 1940s and 1950s developing the theory of antenna, using the cylindrical antenna as a

boundary value problem In the study of differential equations, a boundary-value problem is a differential equation subjected to constraints called boundary conditions. A solution to a boundary value problem is a solution to the differential equation which also satis ...

subject to

Maxwell's equations Maxwell's equations, or Maxwell–Heaviside equations, are a set of coupled partial differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electromagnetism, classical optics, Electrical network, electr ...

. Also, scattering and diffraction of electromagnetic waves from spheres, cylinders, strips, and disks, conducted within earth, under water or in tissue. King is responsible for the

inverted-F antenna An inverted-F antenna is a type of Antenna (radio), antenna used in wireless communication, mainly at ultrahigh frequency, UHF and microwave frequency, frequencies. It consists of a monopole antenna running parallel to a ground plane and ground ...

, the most widely used antenna in mobile phones. However, he did not develop this antenna for that purpose. Rather the intended use was missile

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...

Books

* King RWP, ''Tables of Antenna Characteristics'', IFI/Plenum Data Corporation, 1971. * King RWP, ''The Theory of Linear Antennas: With Charts and Tables for Practical Applications'',

, 1956. * King RWP, ''Transmission-Line Theory'',

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, 1965.Reissue of the 1955 textbook published by

McGraw Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

. * King RWP, Fikioris GJ, Mack RB, ''Cylindrical Antennas and Arrays'', 2nd ed,

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, 2002.First edition were published as:
''Arrays of Cylindrical Dipoles'' * King RWP, Harrison CW, ''Antennas and Waves: A Modern Approach'',

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

, 1969. * King RWP, Mimno HR, Wing AH, ''Transmission Lines, Antennas and Wave Guides'',

, 1945. * King RWP, Owens M, Wu TT, ''Lateral Electromagnetic Waves: Theory and Applications to Communications, Geophysical Exploration, and Remote Sensing'',

Springer Springer or springers may refer to: Publishers * Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag. ** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...

, 1992. * King RWP, Prasad S, ''Fundamental Electromagnetic Theory and Applications'', Prentice Hall, 1986.Earlier editions were published as:
''Fundamental Electromagnetic Theory''
''Electromagnetic Engineering'' * King RWP, Smith GS, Owens M, Wu TT, ''Antennas in Matter: Fundamentals, Theory, and Applications'',

, 1981. * King RWP, Wu TT, ''The Scattering and Diffraction of Waves'',

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, 1959.

Awards

IEEE Fellow , 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 ot ...

, ''Life fellow'' *Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

(1941) (search on year 1941 and institution Harvard University) *Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

*Distinguished Service Award from the University of Wisconsin (1973) *1983 Prize Paper Award from the IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility *Centennial Medal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1985) *

Harold Pender Award The Harold Pender Award, initiated in 1972 and named after founding Dean Harold Pender, is given by the Faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Science of the University of Pennsylvania to an outstanding member of the engineering profess ...

from The Moore School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania (1986) *Distinguished Achievement Award of the Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1997) *IEEE Graduate Teaching Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1997) * Chen-To Tai Distinguished Educator Award from the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (2001). *Professor R.W.P. King Education Fund (1972)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Ronold People from Williamstown, Massachusetts 20th-century American physicists University of Rochester alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Cornell University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Harvard University faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the IEEE IEEE Centennial Medal laureates Fellows of the American Physical Society 1905 births 2006 deaths American men centenarians American microwave engineers American people of English descent American people of German descent