John Price Jackson

Arthur H. Waynick

Selecting a name
The table below summarizes the heads of Electrical Engineering:

A history of the College of Engineering by Michael Bezilla gives insight to the accomplishments of the department heads. The author of this proposal relied heavily upon Bezilla’s research as well as his own personal knowledge of Dr. Arthur Waynick. Kinsloe had the longest tenure of all of the heads (38 years), next followed by Waynick (20 years). Unfortunately limited documented accomplishments were found for Kinsloe; thus it was best to choose the first head, Jackson, who later became the second dean of the College of Engineering and continued to have much influence upon the development of the Department of Electrical Engineering.

It is proposed to name the Electrical Engineering West building after Jackson.
Dr Waynick was instrumental in the planning phase of the East building, and it was built and occupied during his term as head. It was his idea to make this a research building and that has been mostly fulfilled.

It is proposed to name the Electrical Engineering East Building after Waynick.

Facts and accomplishments of Jackson relevant to the Electrical and other engineering departments:

• Jackson was one of the first graduates of Mechanical Engineering in the class of 1889. EE split off from Physics in 1893, and Jackson became the youngest head at the age of 24. At that time Reber was the first Dean of the College of Engineering. Jackson and Reber eventually became brothers-in-law!
• Jackson supervised the experimental electric railway in which students gained experience in the field of electric traction. Electric trains were then approaching their zenith.
• With Reber, Jackson oversaw the college power plant and students were assigned duties to improve service throughout the college.
• Electives in the curriculum appeared in the catalog for the first time (1902) in an attempt to broaden the education of the very specialized engineering students. Today we still follow that concept.
• Jackson first proposed a department of Architectural Engineering and engineering drawing.
• Dean Jackson backed a plan aimed at training students to become managers as well as engineers.
• He had the first wireless station installed in Engineering F in 1910, transitioning into the radio field from the conventional power emphasized courses. It was a hit when it relayed the Penn State College-University of Penn game back to the college from a set-up on the Wanamaker’s Department Store in Philadelphia.
• In 1902 Reber brought up the idea of an engineering experiment station, but Jackson turned it to reality. It provided a real environment for faculty and students to pursue research.
• Jackson pushed for short courses in Electrical Engineering to offer elementary courses for foremen, wiremen and other artisans. Courses were from a few days to months.
• For those who could not come to the College, Jackson proposed correspondence courses; as we know that tradition has continued at Penn State, and now we have a World Campus.
• Another milestone of the growth of engineering extension was the introduction of evening courses requested by the Pennsylvania Railroad for the Altoona shops. Soon these courses spread to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Wilmington, Delaware.
• Dean Jackson acted as director of extension as there was no money to hire a director.
• Under Jackson’s watch, he pushed to broaden engineering students by requiring them to study history, English, economics, etc. And to this day we have the AHS electives.
• Jackson formed the Electrical Society, which brought in speakers for professional and social functions.
• Another student-oriented accomplishment was the publication of “The Engineer” in 1908, which after a few years became all student managed.
• Jackson’s contributions were many, and I might say that both Jackson and Reber were “cut from the same swath of cloth”! Both were energetic, concerned teachers, excellent administrators, and a step ahead in their profession. It would be a wonderful tribute to both, having the Reber building and a Jackson building in such close proximity to each other.

Facts and accomplishments of Waynick relevant to the Electrical Engineering Department:

• Dr. Waynick was the head of the Electrical Engineering Department and director and founder of the Ionosphere Research Laboratory, serving from 1951 until his retirement in 1971. He spent two years working towards his doctor of science in physics at Cambridge University, until the outbreak of the war in 1939. Harvard University later conferred his doctor of science in communications in 1943.
• He came to Penn State in 1945 with the formation of the Ordinance Research Laboratory, now the Applied Research Laboratory. Previously he was section head of the Harvard Underwater Sound Laboratory.
• IRL under his leadership became the most prodigious and recognized ionosphere research laboratory in the world. It was renowned by scientists worldwide and they visited the lab, guided students and gave inspiration to numerous graduate students from EE, physics, meteorology, mathematics, and chemistry.
• He developed and supervised the outstanding ionospheric measurement program located in the Barrens. Many might recall the mile long antenna sitting on eight 240 towers used to make several important discoveries concerning the physics of the formation of the lower atmosphere.
• A quote from the eulogy presented by President Eric Walker states “Science was his life. He may not have discovered the ionosphere however Art with Appleton and Radcliffe at the Cavendish Laboratory first measured it, described it, and taught us how to use it. This understanding opened new paths for the telephone, radio, and even space communications.”
• The electrical engineering curriculum molded by Waynick included elements of electronics, communications, radio propagation, and atmospheric physics among other advanced topics for graduate education.
• He was the first A. Robert Noll distinguished chair in electrical engineering.
• The Electrical Engineering East building was constructed during his tenure. He desired to make that building a research building. Research labs are the major tenants of that building today.
• Computer technology was brought into the curriculum by his foresight. Under his leadership the department of Electrical Engineering had operational Pascal, an analog computer used for teaching and for graduate student research.
• Next and most importantly was the construction of the first digital computer on campus, PENNSTAC, having been constructed in the basement of the Electrical Engineering West building. This opened the doors as an important tool for many graduate thesis research programs. Notably Dr. Laird was involved in the design of PENNSTAC and went on to become the director of the University Computing facilities.
• Later Waynick had an even better computer than PENNSTAC; it was the hybrid computer that was part analog and part digital. It allowed rapid calculations to be made using the analog component. Digital speed was not what it is today, and the hybrid arrangement speeded up computations.
• Power system analysis was made possible by his foresight to obtain a network analyzer; it could simulate power generators, transmission lines and loads. It was a great tool for the power majors.
• In 1962 Waynick began a program of radio astronomy in the IRL. A large 30-foot radio dish and associated signal processing equipment was designed and installed. This was the first radio astronomy observatory at the university. In 1965 the College of Science established the Department of Radio Astronomy with Dr. Hagen as head. Today radio astronomy is an important tool for astronomical discoveries; another example of Dr. Waynick’s foresight.
• He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
• In 1967 he was invited by the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences to assist NASA in selecting scientist-astronaut candidates.
• Waynick’s contributions are still remembered today. He moved the curriculum towards modern electrical engineering using the expertise of his research foresight. His laboratory produced many students that moved into the space program, government laboratories and educational institutions. He is responsible for much of the scientific reputation that the department enjoys. His laboratory continues to flourish under the name Communications and Space Sciences Laboratory. He is still being honored by the annual Waynick Memorial Lectures funded by family and friends. This lecture series attracts Nobel laureates and esteemed scientists whose research presentations are on atmospheric and space related topics He is well deserving of the honor of having the East building named after him.