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James Gilbert Baker | |
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| Born | (1914-12-11)December 11, 1914 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | June 29, 2005(2005-06-29) (aged 90) Bedford, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Louisville (B.A.) Harvard University (M.S.) Harvard University (Ph.D.) |
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| Known for | optical systems |
| Awards | Magellanic Premium(1952) Elliott Cresson Medal(1962) SPIE Gold Medal(1978) |
James Gilbert Baker (November 11, 1914 – June 29, 2005) was an Americanastronomer and designer ofoptics systems.
He was born inLouisville, Kentucky to Jesse B. Baker and Hattie M. Stallard, the fourth child of that couple. He attendedLouisville duPont Manual High School then majored in mathematics at theUniversity of Louisville. During his time at the university, he became interested inastronomy and grinding his own mirrors. In 1931 he helped to form theLouisville Astronomical Society. He graduated with aB.A. in 1935.
He met his future wife, Elizabeth Katherine Breitenstein, while at the university.
Pursuing his interest in astronomy, he studied at theHarvard College Observatory. He earned hisM.A. in 1936, gained an appointment as a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society from 1937 until 1943. It was in 1940 that he developed the Baker-Schmidt telescope, a modification of theschmidt camera. In 1942 he was awarded his PhD inastronomy andastrophysics fromHarvard University.
After the start ofWorld War II, he was recruited to be a civilian optical designer for the Army's newly formed aerial reconnaissance branch under ColonelGeorge William Goddard. He would design wide-angle camera systems and test them in unpressurized compartments during test flights. He also became a consultant for thePerkin Elmer Corporation. Following the war he then became an advisor for the Air Force Photographic Laboratory.
Living inCambridge, Massachusetts, from 1946 until 1949 he was an associate professor at Harvard University, as well as continuing his research into optics he had pursued during the war. In 1948 he moved toOrinda, California to join theLick Observatory as a research associate. He returned to Harvard in 1950.
Prior to the launch of theSputnik I spacecraft, Baker collaborated withJoseph Nunn to build a series of 12 satellite tracking cameras that would be called theBaker-Nunn camera. Dr. Baker designed the optical system for the cameras, which were fabricated by Perkin-Elmer Corporation.
He andEdwin Land were instrumental in persuading PresidentDwight Eisenhower to have theU-2 spy plane built.[citation needed] Baker also designed the lenses and most of the cameras used on the U-2 spy plane and later theSR-71 Blackbird.[citation needed] In addition, he designed the lenses and cameras used in theSamos satellite program,[citation needed] and a modified version of these optics were later used in the lunar mapping programs.
During the 1960s he designed the folding optics for thePolaroid SX-70Land Camera. He also designed the Baker Super-Schmidt camera, which was used to trackmeteors, and thePaul-Baker telescope. In 1960 he became president of theOptical Society of America.
Baker was the author of many technical papers and he held more than 50 U.S. patents. He was the first person to use a computer for the design of optics.[citation needed]
He died inBedford, New Hampshire at the age of 90, and was survived by his wife Elizabeth, and his three sons, a daughter, and five grandchildren. (His children have also pursued technical careers).[1]
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