George H. Heilmeier | |
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| Born | (1936-05-22)May 22, 1936 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 21, 2014(2014-04-21) (aged 77) Plano, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Princeton University (PhD, MS, MA) University of Pennsylvania (BS) |
| Awards | IEEE Founders Medal(1986) National Medal of Science(1991) IRI Medal(1993) IEEE Medal of Honor(1997) John Fritz Medal(1999) Kyoto Prize(2005) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Electrical engineering |
George Harry Heilmeier (May 22, 1936 – April 21, 2014) was an Americanengineer, manager, and a pioneering contributor toliquid crystal displays (LCDs), for which he was inducted into theNational Inventors Hall of Fame. Heilmeier's work is anIEEE Milestone.[1][2]
Heilmeier was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School there, received his BS inElectrical Engineering from theUniversity of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and his M.S.E., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in solid state materials and electronics fromPrinceton University.
Dr. Heilmeier, the son of a janitor, was the first member of his family to finish high school. His daughter, Beth Jarvie, said “it was the Christian character of my dad” as well as his ability to put his head down and push forward with the work at hand that played major roles in his contributions.[3]
In 1958 Heilmeier joinedRCA Laboratories inPrinceton, New Jersey, where he worked on parametric amplification,tunnel diode down-converters,millimeter wave generation,ferroelectric thin film devices,organic semiconductors and electro-optic effects in molecular and liquid crystals. In 1964 he discovered several new electro-optic effects inliquid crystals, which led to the first working liquid crystal displays based on what he called the dynamic scattering mode (DSM).
Heilmeier spent much of the 1970s in theUnited States Department of Defense. In 1970–71, he served as aWhite House Fellow and special assistant to theSecretary of Defense, performing long-range research and development planning. In 1971 he was appointed Assistant Director for Defense Research and Engineering, Electronic and Physical Sciences, overseeing all research and exploratory development in electronics and the physical sciences. In 1975 he was named Director of theDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and initiated major efforts instealth aircraft, space-basedlasers, space-basedinfrared technology, andartificial intelligence.
In December 1977 Heilmeier left government to become vice president atTexas Instruments; in 1983 he was promoted toChief Technical Officer. From 1991 to 1996, he was president and CEO ofBellcore (nowTelcordia), ultimately overseeing its sale toScience Applications International Corporation (SAIC). He served as the company's chairman and CEO from 1996 to 1997, and afterwards as its chairman emeritus.
Heilmeier had received numerous awards, held 15 patents, and was a member of theNational Academy of Engineering, theDefense Science Board, and theNational Security Agency Advisory Board. He served on the board of trustees ofFidelity Investments and of Teletech Holdings, and the Board of Overseers of the School of Engineering and Applied Science of theUniversity of Pennsylvania. He died of a stroke in 2014.[4]
A set of questions credited to Heilmeier that anyone proposing a research project or product development effort should be able to answer.[5][6]
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Director ofDARPA 1975–1977 | Succeeded by Robert R. Fossum |