Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California College of Engineering Oral History Series John R. Whinnery RESEARCHER AND EDUCATOR IN ELECTROMAGNETICS, MICROWAVES, AND OPTOELECTRONICS, 1935-1995; DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, UC BERKELEY, 1959-1963 With an Introduction by Donald 0. Pederson Interviews Conducted by Ann Lage in 1994 Copyright 1996 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the Nation. Oral history is a modern research technique involving an interviewee and an informed interviewer in spontaneous conversation. The taped record is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The resulting manuscript is typed in final form, indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and John R. Whinnery dated February 9, 1994. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with John R. Whinnery requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: John R. Whinnery, "Researcher and Educator in Electromagnetics, Microwaves, and Optoelectronics, 1935-1995; Dean of the College of Engineering, UC Berkeley, 1959- 1963," an oral history conducted in 1994 by Ann Lage, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1996. Copy no. John R. Whinnery, May 1994. Photograph by Peg Skorpinski Cataloging information Whinnery, John W. (b. 1916) Professor of Electrical Engineering Researcher and Educator in Electromagnetics. Microwaves, and Optoelectronics, 1935-1995; Dean of the College of Engineering. UC Berkeley. 1959-1963. 1996, vii, 273 pp. Family and youth in western Colorado and Modesto, California; undergraduate education, University of California, 1930s; General Electric Advanced Engineering Program and microwave research, 1937-1946, collaboration with Simon Ramo; research program at Hughes Aircraft, 1951-1952; UC Berkeley College of Engineering, 1946-1995: postwar graduate studies, growth of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Electronics Research Laboratory, faculty recruitment and retention, undergraduate and graduate curriculum, governance issues as dean (1959-1963), former dean Morrough O'Brien; research and teaching in electromagnetic fields and waves and optoelectronics; service on governmental, scientific, and industry advisory boards, NASA Apollo program, 1964-1969. Introduction by Donald 0. Pederson, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley. Interviewed 1994 by Ann Lage for the College of Engineering Oral History Series. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. This oral history of John R. Whinnery has been funded by the generous contributions of Ronald V. Schmidt, EE '66 '68 '71 George J. Maslach, ME '42 Dean Emeritus The University of California, Berkeley, Engineering Alumni Society The Berkeley Engineering Fund TABLE OF CONTENTS --John R. Whinnery INTRODUCTION- -by Donald 0. Pederson i INTERVIEW HISTORY- -by Ann Lage iv BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION vii I FAMILY BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION, 1916 TO 1937 1 Parents and Grandparents in Western Colorado, 1870s to 1916 1 Family and Boyhood in Read, Colorado 6 Father's Light Plant in Austin 7 Life in a Small Community 8 The Ten-Dollar Pig 12 Family Pastimes and Holidays 13 The Move to Modesto, California, 1927, and Father's Failing Health 16 High School in Modesto 18 Teachers 18 Friends, and Hobbies 19 Family Life in Modesto 20 Modesto Junior College 22 University of California, Berkeley, 1935 to 1937 24 Social Life 25 Education in Engineering at Berkeley 26 Other Coursework 29 University Medalist 30 Looking for Work During the Depression 32 II GENERAL ELECTRIC, SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, 1937 TO 1946 34 GE Test Program, Erie, Pennsylvania 35 GE Advanced Engineering Program 36 B. D. Bedford 37 W. C. Hahn 38 Simon Ramo, and Collaboration on Fields and Waves in Modern Radio 39 Poetry Writing 41 Work Assignments in the Advanced Engineering Program 42 GE During World War II 43 The Influence of the War on Electronics Research 45 Fellow Researchers at GE 47 Leaving GE 47 More on Simon Ramo 48 Other Activities in Schenectady 50 Marriage to Patricia Barry, 1944 50 III RETURN TO UC BERKELEY, 1946 TO 1952, AS GRADUATE STUDENT, LECTURER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR 52 Graduate Student 52 Department of Electrical Engineering, Postwar 53 Requirements of the Ph.D. Program 55 Growth of the Department 57 Samuel Silver 59 IV HUGHES AIRCRAFT, 1951 TO 1952 61 Microwave Tube Research Section 62 Working Conditions at Hughes 63 Simon Ramo and Dean Wooldridge 64 Research and the Cold War 65 Comparing Industry and Academia, and Return to Berkeley 65 Howard Hughes 67 Hughes Aircraft and the Value of Industrial Experience 68 V VICE CHAIR, DIVISION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, HEAD OF ELECTRONICS RESEARCH LABORATORY, UC BERKELEY, 1952 TO 1956 69 Collegiality and Personnel in Electrical Engineering 69 Early Computer Research 70 Returning to UC Berkeley 72 Morrough O'Brien and Sam Silver 72 Electronics Research Lab: Establishment and Federal Funding 74 More on Morrough O'Brien and on Organizing EE Research 78 Patents on Faculty Research 81 The Loyalty Oath, and Classified Research 82 VI CHAIR, DIVISION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, 1956 TO 1958 84 Division versus Department 84 Paul Morton's Resignation; Whinnery's Appointment as Chair 85 Recruiting Faculty 86 Electrical Engineering Curriculum 90 Science versus Application 92 The Common Lower Division Curriculum 93 O'Brien's Policy and Budget Committee 94 Clark Kerr and Morrough O'Brien 95 The Academic Senate and Engineering 96 VII DEAN, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, 1959 TO 1963 100 Appointment as Dean 100 Improving Relations with Other Colleges 102 Organization of the College 104 Mechanical Engineering 104 Communication within the College and Beyond 106 Small Departments: Naval Architecture and Materials Science 108 Personnel in the College of Engineering 110 Construction of New Buildings 112 Richmond Field Station 115 Operations Research Center 115 Faculty Recruitment 117 Women and Minorities 118 Recruiting Mistakes 119 The Budget Committee of the Academic Senate 120 Relations with UC Davis Engineering 122 Relations with UC Santa Barbara Engineering 123 Relations with "Teller Tech," Livermore 125 International Programs 127 Relations with UCLA Engineering 130 A Status Report on the College During Whinnery's Deanship 131 Curriculum 135 Break-up of the Common Lower Division 135 Specialization in the Upper Division Curriculum 138 The Social Science Requirement 139 Engineering Science Program, and the Three-Two Program 142 Engineering Advisory Council 144 Engineering Alumni Society 146 Community Relations, and Fund Raising 147 The College's Self -Study Program, and Retreat at Tahoe 148 Engineering Programs within UC Extension 151 Selection of Lotfi Zadeh as Chair of Electrical Engineering 152 Building Up Other Campuses with Berkeley Professors 154 Leaving the Deanship 155 Commission on Engineering Education 157 The Course of the College Since 1963 159 VIII POST- 1963 UNIVERSITY SERVICE 160 Chairman, University Four-Letter Word Committee 160 The Continuing Turbulence of the Late Sixties and Seventies 162 Appointment to UC Santa Cruz Applied Technology Program, 1968 164 Return to Berkeley; University Professorship 168 Service on University Committees 170 IX RESEARCH AND TEACHING 173 Electromagnetic Fields and Waves: Approach to Problems 173 Associate Research Engineer George Becker 176 Work on Backward-Wave Turnable Amplifier, and Noise Aspects 177 Other Researchers, and Publication 178 Teaching and Guiding Graduate Students 179 Quantum and Optical Electronics 182 Developing Group Research with Graduate Students and Other Professors 184 Funding for Research 187 Optics and Laser Research 190 X SERVICE TO GOVERNMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AGENCIES 194 Advisory Group on Electronic Devices, Department of Defense, 1957 to 1966 194 Classified Consultant on the ICBM, 1957 195 NASA Science and Technology Advisory Committee for the Apollo Program, 1964 to 1969 196