Biographical Memoir by T H E O D O R E V a N D U Z E R , C H a R L E S K
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES JOHN R. WHINNE R Y 1 9 1 6 — 2 0 0 9 A Biographical Memoir by THEODO R E V A N D U Z E R , C H A R L E S K . B I R DSALL, AND DAVID H. AUSTON Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. Biographical Memoir COPYRIGHT 2009 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WASHINGTON, D.C. Photo Credit: Ed Kirwan Graphic Arts. Berkeley, California. JOHN R. WHINNERY July 26, 1916–February 1, 2009 BY T H E O D ORE V A N D U Z E R, C H ARL E S K . B I R D S A L L , AND DAVID H. AUSTON OHN ROY WHINNERY, FORMER DEAN of engineering at the Uni- Jversity of California, Berkeley, National Medal of Science recipient, and a distinguished innovator in the field of elec- tromagnetism and communication electronics, died Sunday, February 1, 2009, at his home in Walnut Creek, California. He was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1972 and was a member of its Section 1, Engi- neering Sciences. Whinnery was born in Read, Colorado, on July 26, 1916, and moved with his family at the age of 10 to Modesto, Cali- fornia, where his father continued his farming and main- tained an avid interest in electrical and mechanical systems. Whinnery’s father had also bought and operated a light plant to generate electricity for a small town in Colorado, an event that may have influenced the younger Whinnery’s development.
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