Subject:
Scientists
(Achievements and awards)
Scientists
(Appreciation)
Engineers
(Achievements and awards)
Engineers
(Appreciation)
Science
(Rites, ceremonies and celebrations)
Engineering
(Rites, ceremonies and celebrations)
Product:
Product Code: 8520110 Scientists; 8527001 Engineers; 8520000 Sciences; 8500000 Science, Research & Development; 8527000 Engineering NEC NAICS Code: 54171 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life
Sciences; 54133 Engineering Services; 5417 Scientific Research and Development Services
Full Text:
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
As a young beginning physics graduate student under Luis Alvarez at
University Cal, Berkeley Larry Johnston took time off to work at the MIT
Radiation Laboratory from 1940-1943, He and his colleagues developed
"Ground-Controlled-Approach" radar, a blind landing system for
airplanes. This radar system enabled the Allies during the Cold War to
land planes, one every 4 minutes, at Berlin's Templehof airport in
very bad weather during the Russian blockade of West Berlin. This
invention was used both in civilian and military airplanes for many
years to come.
In 1944, he was recruited to the Manhattan Project to participate
in the development of the atomic bomb. Dr. Johnston invented the
Exploding Bridge Wire Detonator, which enabled uniform timing of the
detonating implosion at 32 points within 0.1 microseconds. Developing
the detonator required Larry going off alone to a private mountaintop at
Los Alamos to test his designs. The test grounds were isolated in case
the explosions went awry. The detonator system was used in the first
detonation at Trinity, and the last detonation at Nagasaki. He and his
colleagues also developed the data collecting system that was used to
obtain scientific data after the bombs exploded. He was the only person
to be present at all three detonations of the bombs. Dr. Johnston flew
in observation planes during the testing at Trinity site in New Mexico,
and both delivery missions of bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While
waiting to fly in those missions he saw the one hundred thousand coffins
being stockpiled on Tinian, to be used in the first wave of the US
invasion. He is a true hero, and many of our fathers and grandfathers
did not have to come home in those coffins because of his efforts. Dr.
Johnston's invention of the Exploding Bridge Wire Detonator
continues to save lives today, since this detonator is now used to
activate automotive air bags.
From 1950 to 1968, Dr. Johnston was employed at the University of
Minnesota, Department of Physics, where he carried out experiments on
proton-proton scattering to obtain the nuclear force potential of the
proton. His work on proton-proton scattering is still the definitive
work on this subject. He was elected a Fellow of American Physical
Society in 1952. In the 1960's he was lured back to California to
work for Aerospace Corp., and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.
During this period, he built a 68-MeV linear accelerator and worked on
building the two-mile long, 20 GeV, electron linear accelerator. This
technology has also saved many lives, including possible Larry's
own. When he was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, part of his
treatment was irradiation from medical accelerators, which were great
grandchildren of Larry's early devices.
His love of teaching and mentoring of students motivated Dr.
Johnston to return to university life and he came to the University of
Idaho in 1967 and started work on developing infrared lasers. He later
used these to investigate properties of molecules. Dr. Johnston
developed a unique HCN submillimeter wavelength laser, and a number of
both undergraduate and graduate students worked in his laboratory. His
paper "Stark Spectrum of Methyl Alcohol in the Far Infrared"
was selected as the "Outstanding Research Paper of the Year"
by Sigma Xi in 1976. Students loved to work in Dr. Johnston's lab.
His knowledge, skill and love of research and development were major
contributors to the education of many of Idaho's students.
Since retiring from the University of Idaho in 1988, Dr. Johnston
has continued to educate the young and old about the joy and beauty that
is physics. Dr. Johnston is a truly amazing man who has influenced
citizens of Idaho, the United States and the world. It is not possible
to hear Dr. Johnston speak and not think long and hard about the joys
and duties of citizen scientists and engineers. His contributions are
not merely technical. Dr. Johnston is a testament to everyone who knows
him of why science and engineering matter to us as citizens and, more
significantly, as human beings. Idaho and our nation can be proud of
this Distinguished Scientist.