Gerald Rosselot

Last updated
Gerald A. Rosselot
Gerald Rosselot GTRI.png
Born(1908-01-11)January 11, 1908
DiedAugust 12, 1972(1972-08-12) (aged 64)
Alma mater
Scientific career
Fields Physics
Institutions Georgia Tech Research Institute, Bendix

Gerald A. Rosselot (January 11, 1908 - August 12, 1972) [1] was an American physicist and engineering executive at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Georgia Tech Research Institute and Bendix Corporation (now owned by Honeywell). He was an IEEE Fellow. [2]

Contents

Early life

Rosselot was born January 11, 1908, in Westerville, Ohio. As a child, Rosselot traveled to France and England and became somewhat proficient in French. He attended and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Otterbein College in 1929, a Master of Arts from Ohio State University in 1930, and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University in 1936. [2] In 1930, he married Gladys Anna Dickey, and would eventually have five children with her. [2]

Georgia Tech

In 1934, Rosselot came to Georgia Tech. Initially an instructor in physics (1934–35 and 1936–37) and Mathematics (1935–36), he quickly ascended through Assistant Professor in Physics (1937–39) to Associate Professor of Physics (1940–41) and later Professor of Physics (1941–43). [2] In 1950, Rosselot was selected as chairman of the Engineering College Research Council (part of the American Society for Engineering Education conference, held at the University of Washington that year). [3]

In 1940, Rosselot was appointed by Georgia Institute of Technology president Marion L. Brittain as the assistant director of the Engineering Experiment Station (now known as the Georgia Tech Research Institute). From 1941 to 1952, Rosselot was the organization's director, replacing the recently deceased acting director Harold Bunger. [2] [4] In his tenure as director of Georgia Tech's Engineering Experiment Station, World War II significantly increased the number and value of contracts coming to the station, and is credited with GTRI's entry into electronics, especially telecommunications and electronic warfare. [5] At the end of World War II, Georgia Tech had about $240,000 annually in sponsored research. [2] [6] Other accomplishments during Rosselot's administration at the Engineering Experiment Station included the purchase of an electron microscope in 1946 for $13,000 (equivalent to $180,000in 2021), the first such instrument in the Southeastern United States and one of few in the United States at the time. [7] [8] The Research Building was expanded, and a $300,000 (equivalent to $4,000,000in 2021) Westinghouse A-C network calculator was given to Georgia Tech by Georgia Power in 1947. [9] [10]

Rosselot's administration also included the 1946 establishment of the Industrial Development Council, renamed to the Georgia Tech Research Institute in 1948 and to its present name, the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, in 1984. [11] When the Georgia Board of Regents ruled that all money received in a year had to be spent that year; this was problematic because most government contracts span multiple years. [8] Georgia Tech president Blake Van Leer and vice president Cherry Emerson created the solution, a non-profit corporation that would manage contracts for research services and subsequently hire the Engineering Experiment Station to perform the research. The new organization would also handle patents garnered through research, and distribute funds garnered from contracts and patents as needed. [8]

In 1951, there was a dispute over station finances and Rosselot's hand in the foundation of Scientific Atlanta against Georgia Tech vice president Cherry Emerson. When it was founded in October 1951, Rosselot was president and CEO of Scientific Atlanta; at issue was potential conflicts of interest with his role at Georgia Tech and what, if any, role Georgia Tech should have in technology transfer to the marketplace. [2] Rosselot resigned his post at Georgia Tech in November 1952 (and was on leave until March 1953), but his participation ensured the eventual success of Scientific Atlanta and made way for further technology transfer efforts by Georgia Tech's VentureLab and the Advanced Technology Development Center. [2] [4]

Bendix

In 1953, Rosselot joined Bendix Corporation as their Director of Engineering. He offered for Georgia Tech to match his potential salary at Bendix, but Georgia Tech president Blake Van Leer felt that such a move would be a dangerous precedent. [2] [4] [6] Rosselot became Director of Scientific and University Relations for Bendix in 1955. [2] Rosselot would later become director of Bendix's Research Laboratories Division, and later vice president. [6] In July 1972, Rosselot retired from Bendix due to illness, and he died of acute leukemia on August 12, 1972. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WREK</span> Radio station at the Georgia Institute of Technology

WREK is the radio station staffed by the students of the Georgia Institute of Technology. It is also located on channel 17 on the Georgia Tech cable TV network, GTCN. Starting as a 10-watt class D, WREK currently broadcasts a 100,000-watt ERP signal throughout metropolitan Atlanta, making it among the ten highest-powered college radio stations in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientific Atlanta</span>

Scientific Atlanta, Inc. was a Georgia, United States-based manufacturer of cable television, telecommunications, and broadband equipment. Scientific Atlanta was founded in 1951 by a group of engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and was purchased by Cisco Systems in 2005 for $6.9 billion after Cisco received antitrust clearance for the purchase. The Cisco acquisition of Scientific Atlanta was ranked in the top 10 of largest technology acquisitions in history and was Cisco's largest acquisition to date. Prior to the purchase, Scientific Atlanta had been a Fortune 500 company and was one of the top 25 largest corporations in Georgia.

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. GTRI employs around 2,400 people, and is involved in approximately $600 million in research annually for more than 200 clients in industry and government.

The Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) is a contracting organization that supports research and technological development at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake R. Van Leer</span> American engineer and university president (1893–1956)

Blake Ragsdale Van Leer was an engineer and university professor who served as the fifth president of Georgia Institute of Technology from 1944 until his death in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Georgia Institute of Technology</span> Aspect of history surrounding the Georgia Institute of Technology

The history of the Georgia Institute of Technology can be traced back to Reconstruction-era plans to develop the industrial base of the Southern United States. Founded on October 13, 1885, in Atlanta as the Georgia School of Technology, the university opened in 1888 after the construction of Tech Tower and a shop building and only offered one degree in mechanical engineering. By 1901, degrees in electrical, civil, textile, and chemical engineering were also offered. In 1948, the name was changed to the Georgia Institute of Technology to reflect its evolution from an engineering school to a full technical institute and research university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittain Dining Hall</span>

Brittain Dining Hall is the primary dining hall of East Campus at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dedicated in name of Marion L. Brittain, it serves as the primary dining location for all Freshman Experience and Area II housing residents. It is located between Techwood Drive and Williams Street, facing Bobby Dodd Stadium to its west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. Harry Vaughan</span>

William Harry Vaughan, Jr. was a professor of ceramic engineering at the Georgia School of Technology and the founder and first director of what is now the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen E. Cross</span>

Stephen Edward Cross is the executive vice president for research (EVPR) at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), a position to which he was appointed in 2010. As EVPR, Cross coordinates research efforts among Georgia Tech's colleges, research units and faculty; and provides central administration for all research, economic development and related support units at Georgia Tech. This includes direct oversight of Georgia Tech's interdisciplinary research institutes, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) and the Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen P. Robinson</span> American Founder of Scientific Atlanta

Glen Parmelee Robinson, Jr., called the "father of high-tech industry in Georgia", was an American businessman and founder of Scientific Atlanta, now a subsidiary of Cisco Systems. Robinson was the first employee of Scientific Atlanta, where he remained CEO then Chairman of the company until he retired.

Harold Alan Bunger was the head of Georgia Tech's chemistry department and the director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1940 until his death in 1941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herschel H. Cudd</span>

Herschel Herbert Cudd was the director of the Georgia Institute of Technology's Engineering Experiment Station from 1952 to 1954, succeeding Gerald Rosselot in that position. He would later become the president of Amoco Chemical Company and serve on the board of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James E. Boyd (scientist)</span> American physicist and administrator (1906–1998)

James Emory Boyd was an American physicist, mathematician, and academic administrator. He was director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1957 to 1961, president of West Georgia College from 1961 to 1971, and acting president of the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1971 to 1972.

Paul Weber was the interim president of the Georgia Institute of Technology from previous president Blake Ragsdale Van Leer's death until a replacement was found in Edwin D. Harrison, a period of approximately 18 months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert E. Stiemke</span>

Robert E. Stiemke was an American civil engineer, director of the Georgia Tech School of Civil Engineering from 1950 to 1962, director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1961 to 1963, and Georgia Tech's first Associate Dean of Faculties and Administrator of Research after July 1, 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice W. Long</span>

Maurice W. Long is an American electrical engineer, radar engineer, and physicist. He served as director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1968 to 1975. He currently works as a part-time radar consultant, principal research engineer at GTRI and adjunct professor of Electrical Engineering at Southern Polytechnic State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald J. Grace</span> American electrical engineer

Donald J. Grace was an American Electrical Engineer. Grace was the longest-serving director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, holding the position from 1976 to 1992.

Harry L. Baker Jr. was the president of the Georgia Tech Research Corporation from its creation in 1946 until his death in 1973.

Montgomery Knight was an aeronautical engineer who specialized in rotary-wing aircraft. He was the first director of the Guggenheim School of Aeronautics at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a founder of and long-time researcher at the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology</span> Buildings in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The main campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology occupies part of Midtown Atlanta, primarily bordered by 10th Street to the north, North Avenue to the south, and, with the exception of Tech Square, the Downtown Connector to the East, placing it well in sight of the Atlanta skyline. In 1996, the campus was the site of the athletes' village and a venue for a number of athletic events for the 1996 Summer Olympics. The construction of the Olympic Village, along with subsequent gentrification of the surrounding areas, significantly changed the campus.

References

  1. "Individual Record: Gerald ROSSELOT". Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Stevenson, Jim (2005-01-27). "Gerald A. Rosselot" (PDF). Deceased Georgia Tech Faculty Members. Georgia Tech Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
  3. "Dr. Rosselot Selected As Council Chairman". The Technique . 1950-07-05. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  4. 1 2 3 McMath, Robert C.; Ronald H. Bayor; James E. Brittain; Lawrence Foster; August W. Giebelhaus; Germaine M. Reed (1985). Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech 1885–1985. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. ISBN   978-0-8203-0784-8.
  5. "Government Spurs Electronics Research". Georgia Tech Research Institute . Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  6. 1 2 3 "Gerald Rosselot, past vice president of Bendix". Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi:10.1109/MSPEC.1972.5218664.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "New Microscope For Experiment Installed at Tech". The Technique . 1946-01-19. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  8. 1 2 3 "A Solution to Long-Term Growth". Georgia Tech Research Institute . Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  9. "electro-mechanical-brain" "EES Installs "Electro-Mechanical Brain"". Georgia Tech Research Institute . Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  10. "Research Building Planned to House Expensive Calculator". The Technique . 1946-08-03. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  11. "EES Shapes a New Image and Gets a New Name". Georgia Tech Research Institute. Retrieved 2009-08-05.