Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com\!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.ieee From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: PROFILE/CAREERS - HOWARD S. JONES, JR. Date: Wed, 4 Nov 92 10:20:19 EST Message-ID: <1057.art.1992Nov4.102019@AmeriCast.com> PROFILE/CAREERS - HOWARD S. JONES, JR. John A. Adam, Senior Associate Editor This U.S. government engineer kept improving antenna design while becoming a generous mentor to younger engineers Pssst. Howard S. Jones Jr. is kind of embarrassed about being profiled. He is confident but modest, believing that his many accomplishments, such as innovations in microwave engineering, are testament enough to a successful career in public service. Fortunately, some of Jones's colleagues are not so reticent. They describe a prolific inventor, a pioneer of lightweight conformal antennas (evident in missiles like the Patriot and space vehicles like the Voyager), and a generous manager who inspired young engineers and scientists while continuing himself to churn out about a patent a year. Jones took an unusual route to engineering. He showed no interest in the profession until late in college. As an African- American youth in the 1920s and '30s, he knew of no career role model. Nor did he have a crystal radio set, a common toy of would-be engineers at the time. Only the guidance from his parents and, in particular, the persistence of his mother, a beautician, led Jones to engineering. Today, in semi-retirement after 37 years at the U.S. Army's Harry Diamond Laboratory (HDL), Adelphi, Md., a preeminent defense lab, especially from the 1950s to '70s, Jones finds himself in demand not only as a technical consultant but as a role model as well. MICROWAVE MAN. Just a stone's throw from where his career began at the old National Bureau of Standards, Jones now lives in northwest Washington, D.C., in a high-rise apartment building. At his dining room table, he flipped through three thick loose-leaf notebooks that document his career and educational records-- letters of praise from companies like Westinghouse and Raytheon, Who's Who citations, four major Army awards, and many other honors, including the IEEE Fellow grade and the Harry Diamond Award, presented by the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society at its 1985 international symposium. This collection is factual evidence. As the baseball pitcher Dizzy Dean said: It's not boasting if you've already done it. But not until he is asked to show his 31 patents, with their blue ribbons and gold seals, does the enthusiasm for which he is renowned burst through. Now, rather than talking about himself, he is discussing technology, specifically about his first solo U.S. patent, No. 3 029 430, "Antenna Testing Shield." "This--I have to tell you something about this," he began excitedly, as if he could not speak the words fast enough. "This was a way of testing a fuzing system where you put this hood over it and want to simulate free space. We had all sorts of problems getting it done." He ticks them off, electrical and mechanical, and concludes, with a big smile, "I think they're still using it today." Chances are that if a radar is sleek and compact, like those on missiles and planes, it benefits from Jones's ideas. "He contributed a lot to making Army missile technology possible," said Arthur Sindoris, deputy director of signatures, sensors, and signal processing at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, which is to absorb the Harry Diamond Lab this October. Jones designed most of the HDL's radar fuze antennas for the generations of Army missiles--for instance, Corporal, Hawk, Lance, Little John, Pershing, and Patriot. He was also sought by the U.S. Air Force for some of its projects, including the classified Bomarc air-defense missile program of the 1950s. United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Laslie M. Stewart wrote, in a 1968 memo to the IEEE in support of Jones's Fellow nomination, to say that Jones had saved the service millions--over US $2 million on the Bomarc fuze antenna system, and almost another $0.5 million over contractor costs on another classified missile fuze antenna in 1960-61. James Salerno, a former chief of the advanced research lab at HDL, noted Jones's pioneering work in phased arrays: "It's sort of unfortunate that the work was classified. It detracted a lot from the visibility he would have received." Jones spent most of his career at the HDL, which was divested from the National Bureau of Standards in 1953. The HDL was a premier research institution during much of his time there. Industry ranked the lab No. 1 in the nation, according to an April 24, 1970, memo from the Pentagon's Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering. A FOUNT. Early on, Jones was part of a lab team that explored troublesome details or things not foreseen in contracts--a common occurrence since "all new systems are based on dreams," said one ex-lab engineer. Billy M. Horton, a pioneer in fluidics and HDL's technical director until 1974, called Jones "one of the best performers and leaders in the lab." He worked within strict aerodynamic parameters that limited the size, weight, volume, and electric properties of the antennas. "That's no easy trick to perform," Horton said. "If it was designed by a pure antenna man, it might look like an orange crate." Jones himself said, "The restrictions were good. It was a challenge." Probably his most important contribution, spread over a series of patents, was that of conformal antenna arrays--built first with waveguides, then with printed circuits. Previous missiles had protruding monopole or dipole antennas. Jones embedded copper within the skin of the missile to form its antenna [see the cylindrical missile cross section in the photo at right, taken at HDL's Patriot missile antenna lab]. Today, the idea is being used in the development of "smart skins" for U.S. fighter aircraft and is instrumental in increasing stealthiness. A related contribution was Jones's idea for metallic depositions on plastic foam that enabled the development of especially lightweight antennas. Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, pursued Jones's work for the Air Force's Rome Air Development Center in New York State, and Raytheon Co.'s Missile Systems Division, Bedford, Mass., also developed this lightweight innovation. His wide interests led Jones to such varied fields as materials, circuitry, and manufacturing--and from theory to systems integration--anything that could improve the cost, performance, and quality of antennas. Keith R. Carver, dean of engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, said that rather than focus on a tiny corner, Jones had the rare ability to "see a general problem and find a general answer." With his broad range of experience and contacts, he was able to work through problems and somehow come up with some clever ideas. Sindoris, whom Jones recruited as a Ph.D. graduate from New York University in 1971, recalled that his boss would "probably file a patent or two a year. The rest of us were lucky if we could file one every couple of years." Jones said, "I try to look at things differently, untraditionally. All the ideas I've come up with are a combination of university and industry interactions. You find out what they are doing, and often right away you can figure out improvements." "I didn't do a whole lot on my own, but mainly put together ideas in a way that was meaningful," he admitted. He especially cites his role in evaluating industry's independent R&D programs (where companies would get a small percentage of a Government contract to invest in research of their own choosing). He was able to discover the problems, solve them, and sometimes spawn a new idea. Throughout his career, Jones shared his technical know-how with small businesses. For instance, he passed on his expertise in building anechoic chambers and in casting waveguides. He also transferred lab technology to other Federal agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration and the Navy. In his work, Jones liked to immerse himself in hardware. In his office was a large table covered with antenna models and, "during conversations, he'd jump up, bring over a model, and explain why it worked; and he'd probably pull two or three more out to compare," recalled Daniel Schaubert, a former HDL subordinate now at the University of Massachusetts. Jones also created "the museum," a showcase (and required tour) of the branch's achievements. Salerno called Jones "an inspiring leader," who brought his group into diverse areas of activity as head of the microwave branch. As a manager, Jones would use a "coaching style," Sindoris said. He led by example and helped people when they needed it, but he realized he could leave self-motivated professionals alone for a few days while he pursued his own technical work. He declined higher management positions in the U.S. government because he liked to have a foot in the laboratory. ORIGINS. Jones grew up in Richmond, Va., with his parents and two older sisters. After graduation from high school, he worked at various odd jobs for a year and took a Federal exam for the postal service because he figured it would be a secure lifetime position. But his mother, "a very strong individual," insisted that her son attend college. She and Howard Sr. had been saving for his education. The postal job would always be there, she argued; she wanted her son to have other options. "Back in those days, you did what your parents wanted you to do," Jones said. At Virginia Union University, a historically black college in Richmond, Jones discovered an aptitude in mathematics and physics and heard some professors talking about a profession called engineering. Their talks intrigued him, and after graduation, he made a big decision. "I had the undergraduate degree behind me and [I realized] I just wanted to be an engineer," he said. It was in the middle of World War II. He moved to Washington, D.C., to accept a job as a junior engineering aide at the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology). While there, he took night courses at a Government school and at Howard University, also in Washington. "The Government needed engineers badly and had accelerated programs for people with science backgrounds," he said. "It really turned things around for me." But the war also took him away from the NBS. The Army Quartermaster Corps called Jones to Fort Devens, Mass., where he taught basic science and metals' identification to a segregated unit. In June 1945 he went to Okinawa as a Signal Corps specialist and directed a field depot that examined enemy radar units from Japan. After 14 months, he declined offers to become an officer. Instead he returned to the National Bureau of Standards. After passing the examination for permanent status as a P-1 physicist, he chose microwave engineering rather than electronic circuitry as his career focus. The NBS itself was altered by the war. One of its researchers, Harry Diamond, had been working with weather balloon instrumentation when the British put in an urgent war request-- they needed a proximity fuze to boost the damage of their bombs. The Diamond Ordnance Fuze Laboratory was formed. After the war, the lab's work was continued, and Jones joined the staff. "It was an awesome responsibility," Jones recalled. "All the services needed antennas for the fuzes." Jones said he was never hampered much by discrimination, though he once declined a trip to Huntsville, Ala., during the segregated 1950s. Still, even in Government, he made it a practice to accumulate and record quantifiable achievements such as technical reports, conference invitations, and patents. "I didn't ever have to convince someone whether I was worthy of promotion," he said. "I had documentation." Still, Jones likes to point to the positive side. "You can do a lot to help it by displaying your ability and achievements," he noted. CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL. Former HDL employees note (without even being asked) that Jones instilled a sense of professionalism in them. An aspect was that "you weren't a full professional unless you were active in a professional association," said the Army lab's Sindoris. True enough, many of Jones's recruits became active in the microwave or antenna societies of the IEEE. The University of Massachusetts' Schaubert, who worked for Jones following his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana, in 1974, said his former boss "really took an interest in our careers." He would take young inexperienced people and devote a lot of his energy to train them, whereupon they became so valuable and competent many other avenues opened up to them. "But Howard recognized even though it was a personal sacrifice to him, it was a contribution to the profession," Schaubert said. Jones also takes an active role encouraging students. Carver, the engineering dean, never worked for Jones but recalls a lecture by him when he was at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces in the early 1970s, near White Sands Missile Range. As usual, Jones brought a leather satchel of props, examples of his group's hardware. "You don't get too many who really show you how to do it, all the nuts and bolts, and with such enthusiasm," Carver recalled. Jones has periodically taught at Howard University and lectured all over the country--from the Georgia Institute of Technology to the University of Maine and California State University to Ohio State University. He tells students that "engineering isn't always sitting down at a desk. You have to go into labs, machine shops, plating shops--all kinds of places and meet with different types of people." "We don't do enough selling [of engineering] to encourage these students," Jones said, especially the women who, he has found, are often exceptionally bright and highly motivated. "We have to sell these students that there are jobs out here and these careers are interesting," he said. In his semi-retirement, Jones has been called upon by the Army and the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization to work with some 70 colleges and universities, and to encourage minority students to pursue engineering and science. Jones's colleagues in microwaves and antennas can admire his pioneering work. But his mother never could appreciate his full accomplishments. "She used to say, "This is fine but you should come back [here] to teach.' '' The U.S. government and the engineering profession can be grateful that, this time, Jones did not heed her advice. ***************************************************************** Vital statistics Name: Howard St. Claire Jones Jr. Date of birth: Aug. 18, 1921 Place of birth: Richmond, Va. Height, Weight: 180 cm, 82 kg Family: wife, Evelyn Saunders Jones Education: B.S. mathematics/physics, 1943, and D.Sc. (Honorary), 1971, Virginia Union University; MSEE, Bucknell University, 1973 Patents: 31 Favorite show:: "Murder, She Wrote" Management credo: "Interaction helps one's growth and understanding." Mentors or strong supporters: Maurice Apstein, Jacob Rabinow, Robert D. Hatcher, and James Salerno, all of the U.S. Army Harry Diamond Laboratory Professional engineering licenses: District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia Motto: From his mother: "Never look back. Always look ahead and try to improve things." Memberships: Fellow, the IEEE; Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Fellow, Washington Academy of Science; and Member, American Society for Engineering Education Favorite award: IEEE Harry Diamond Award Leisure activities: travel, jogging, tennis, gol Copyright 1992, IEEE Spectrum. For more information, send-email to American Cybercasting Corporation (usa@AmeriCast.COM)