Arthur Aaron Oliner (March 5, 1921 - September 9, 2013) was an American physicist and electrical engineer, who was Professor Emeritus at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

-Polytechnic. Best known for his contributions to engineering electromagnetics and

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

theory, he is regarded as a pioneer of leaky wave theory and leaky wave antennas.

Biography

Arthur Aaron Oliner was born on March 5, 1921, in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He received an undergraduate degree from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

and Ph.D. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1941 and 1946 respectively, with both being in physics. In 1946, he joined

Microwave Research Institute The Weber Research Institute (known prior to 1985 as the Microwave Research Institute) is a research group at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. The institute's research focuses on electromagnetics, including "electromagnetic, acoust ...

's School of Engineering, then known as the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. In 1965, he went on to a

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...

École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

in Paris, France, under a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

. Becoming a full professor in 1957, Oliner acted as the head of the institute's Department of Electrical Engineering in between 1966 and 1974. In addition, he was the director of the Microwave Research Institute from 1967 until 1982. He retired from New York University in 1990. He died on September 9, 2013, in

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...

. He was survived by two children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild; his wife Frieda, died in 2013. Oliner was a Fellow of AAAS and a Life Fellow of

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

. In 1991, he was elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

for his "contributions to the theory of guided electromagnetic waves and antennas." He was a recipient of the

IEEE Heinrich Hertz Medal The IEEE Heinrich Hertz Medal was a science award presented by the IEEE for outstanding achievements in the field of electromagnetic waves. The medal was named in honour of German physicist Heinrich Hertz, and was first proposed in 1986 by IEEE Reg ...

(2000) and Distinguished Educator Award of the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, of which he was a Honorary Life Member. During his career, Oliner was also employed as an engineering consultant for IBM,

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

Raytheon Technologies Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...

Hughes Aircraft Company The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other produ ...

and

Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avionics and industrial products. R ...

. He was the founder of Merrimac Industries, and served on its Board of Directors from 1962 until its acquisition by Crane Aerospace in 2010.

Research

Oliner's research work encompassed a wide array of topics in microwave field theory, including but not limited to equivalent

networks Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

and circuits, precision measurements, leaky and

surface wave In physics, a surface wave is a mechanical wave that propagates along the Interface (chemistry), interface between differing media. A common example is gravity waves along the surface of liquids, such as ocean waves. Gravity waves can also occu ...

s on waveguides, traveling-wave antennas,

phased array In antenna theory, a phased array usually means an electronically scanned array, a computer-controlled array of antennas which creates a beam of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving th ...

s and periodic structures. He was also involved in the research of surface acoustic waveguides and

integrated optics A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) or integrated optical circuit is a microchip containing two or more photonic components which form a functioning circuit. This technology detects, generates, transports, and processes light. Photonic integrated c ...

. His work with L. O. Goldstone pioneered the theory behind leaky wave antennas. Following his retirement in 1990, he was also involved in the research of striplines and

microstrip Microstrip is a type of electrical transmission line which can be fabricated with any technology where a conductor is separated from a ground plane by a dielectric layer known as the substrate. Microstrip lines are used to convey microwave-frequ ...

s. In the early 2000s, Oliner also contributed to the understanding of

plasmonic In physics, a plasmon is a quantum of plasma oscillation. Just as light (an optical oscillation) consists of photons, the plasma oscillation consists of plasmons. The plasmon can be considered as a quasiparticle since it arises from the quan ...

phenomena within a leaky wave context.

Selected publications

;Journal articles * * * * * * ;Books * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliner, Arthur A 1921 births 2013 deaths Polytechnic Institute of New York University faculty American electronics engineers Brooklyn College alumni Cornell University alumni Fellow Members of the IEEE Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Microwave engineers American telecommunications engineers American engineering writers 20th-century American physicists 21st-century American physicists Scientists from Brooklyn Scientists from Shanghai Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 20th-century American engineers 21st-century American engineers Electrical engineering academics IEEE award recipients American textbook writers