George Robert Carruthers

George Robert Carruthers was an inventor, instrument designer, space scientist, and astrophysicist. He excelled in all, but he fundamentally innovator who could combine emerging hardware techniques clever ways to record phenomena electromagnetic wavelengths accessible only above Earth’s atmosphere. US NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORYPPT|High-resolutionGeorge born Cincinnati, Ohio, on 1 October 1939 lived a small farm near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB), where his father engineer. His died when 12, the family moved Chicago be with mother’s family.George earned BS physics, MS nuclear engineering, PhD aeronautical astronautical engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. While completing dissertation atomic nitrogen recombination 1964, invited give colloquium Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Washington, DC. became NRL’s first E. O. Hulburt Postdoctoral Fellow that December. accepted full-time staff position 1967 spent entire professional career there. often seen riding bicycle from work until retirement 2002. heart failure 26 December 2020 DC.I caught sight dedication Lindheimer Astronomical Center Northwestern May 1967. I first-year graduate student. Fred Whipple gave keynote talk about icy conglomerate (“dirty snowball”) explanation for comets. In few years, George’s instruments would capture UV images comets Kohoutek Halley discover atomic-hydrogen haloes emerge those objects pass Sun. shy demeanor evident dedication.When began NRL postdoc, several scientists there were using sounding rockets explore upper atmosphere ionosphere also Sun x rays. found niche “rocket UV” involving nonsolar objects—stars, gaseous nebulae, nearby galaxies, comets, geocorona.George exemplified ethic values laboratory’s initiator, Thomas Edison. Some research environment pioneered by Edison still existed arrived NRL. gloried freedom allowed him invent, design, construct instruments. Anything envisioned, which muster support, built on-site. There facilities machine coat metal parts, fabricate delicate optical electronic components, assemble test simulated environments. Access Wallops White Sands provided launch opportunities rockets. As program grew, longer-duration payloads launched into Earth orbit Cape Canaveral Vandenberg AFB.George flew rockets, satellites, manned laboratories, reusable planes. autonomous or remotely controlled devices, whereas others required human hands point, operate, retrieve film canisters.All cameras can trace their origin patent 1969 “image converter detecting radiation especially short wave lengths.” The typically used highly efficient opaque alkali halide photocathodes deposited secondary element Schmidt system. Photons through UV-transmitting corrector reflect off aluminized spherical primary mirror form image curved photocathode. Photoelectrons accelerated electrostatically focused magnetically hole impinge silver emulsion film, microchannel plates, CCDs.Sometimes devices eliminated had camera viewing diffraction grating. That case major discovery: On rocket flight March 1970, detected molecular hydrogen space—the most common molecule universe. photograph shows age 30 used.I spoke Mission Control visitor gallery NASA’s Manned Spacecraft April 1972. my second year postdoc. George, not quite five years older than I, having gold-plated operated lunar surface Apollo 16 astronauts. My entrée Kron electronographic telescopes McDonald Observatory. But mind understandably occupied worries whether properly function as planned. So our conversation polite brief. received considerable notoriety “first astronomical observatory moon” is remembered dramatic geocorona, tropical airglow belts, polar aurora—the time whole been viewed far-UV.My next contact occurred subsequently 15 working office across hallway laboratory.In early 1990s, determined back. involved various educational outreach programs mentored African American high school college students NRL, Howard University, around DC.George many honors awards. significant National Medal Technology Innovation, presented President Barack Obama 2012. suspect one enjoyed being inducted Inventors Hall Fame—as Edison.© 2021 Institute Physics.