Oral history interview with William E. Gordon, 1994 November 28.

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Oral history interview with William E. Gordon, 1994 November 28.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/78135482

Topics discussed include: the Waynick Memorial Lecture; Gordon's dissertation work on radio propagation and scattering; the theoretical foundation for the conception of the Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory, its design, the search for project funding which led to the adoption of a parabolic antenna design devised by researchers at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories. Gordon discusses the addition of radar and radio astronomy to the Arecibo instrument's research agenda, and a number of problems he encountered after completion of the facility: the conflict with Gold, difficulties with the reed and the need for Gregorian optics, the friction with the National Science Foundation and ARPA. He also mentions his reasons for taking a position at Rice University. He concludes with a review of the current Arecibo upgrades and sketches of his former Cornell colleagues.

Transcript: 47 pp.

American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 8211758

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Air Force Cambridge Research Center (U.S.)

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Butrica, Andrew J.

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Andrew J. Butrica received a PhD in the history of science and technology at Iowa State University, and is a research historian and author of numerous articles on the history of electricity and electrical engineering. His book, "To See the Unseen: A History of Planetary Radio Astronomy" was researched and written entirely under a contract with the California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), as a subcontract with NASA. It was published as a part of the NASA History...

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. History Office

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Cornell University

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Gordon, William Edwin, 1918-

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Gold, Thomas, Sir, -1686

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Died June 22, 2004. From the description of Oral history interview with Thomas Gold, 1978 April 1. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 78228370 Thomas Gold (1920-2004). Astronomer. Education: Cambridge University. Professional experience: Cavendish Laboratory, 1946-1947; Trinity College, 1947-1951; Royal Greenwich Observatory, 1952-1956; Harvard University, 1957-1958; Cornell University, 1959-1987. Research interests: cosmology, geophysics, radio astronomy, magnetohydrodynamics. ...

National Science Foundation (U.S.)

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Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory

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The Arecibo Observatory is part of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC), a national research center operated by Cornell University under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Observatory operates 24 hours a day every day, providing observing time, electronics, computer, travel and logistic support to scientists from all over the world. The Observatory is recognized as one of the most important national centers for research in radio astronomy, plan...