George Aristotle Economou (June 24, 1923 – April 2, 2003) was an American
optical systems expert, who helped set up special cameras to photograph and study the first test of the
atomic bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
in 1945. He was instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb at
Los Alamos, working on the
Manhattan Project under scientific director
Robert Oppenheimer.
Life
Born in 1923 in
Manchester, New Hampshire, Economou built his first telescope at the age of 12. After studying
astronomy and
astrophysics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...
at
Harvard University, his career began at the
Polaroid Corporation. In 1944, he joined the
United States Army and was assigned to
Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he helped conceptualize camera
lenses
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...
used to photograph bomb tests.
At Contraves, he was later involved in the design of ground station optical instrumentation for
GEODSS
The United States Space Surveillance Network (SSN) detects, tracks, catalogs and identifies artificial objects orbiting Earth, e.g. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentation debris. The system is the responsibility of Uni ...
.
Economou officially retired in 1990 as Group Vice President, Optical Instruments for the
Contraves Goerz Corporation in
O'Hara Township, Pennsylvania, but continued to work on some of the industry's more high-profile projects, such as consulting for design and construction of the
Large Millimeter Telescope.
Obituary: George A. Economou / Authority on large telescopes
/ref> He died of lung cancer aged 79 on April 2, 2003, at Allegheny General Hospital Allegheny General Hospital is a large urban hospital located at 320 East North Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the larger Allegheny Health Network.
History
Allegheny General Hospital, also known locally by the acr ...
.
Notes
References
*Kelso, T.S
"Real-World Benchmarking"
Satellite Times, November 1996. Accessed August 8, 2007. (mentions Contraves as designer and manufacturer of GOEDSS during the period Mr. Economou was Group Vice President)
* ttp://www.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20030405economou4.asp "Obituary at ''Post-Gazette''"April 5, 2003. (Describes Mr. Economou's involvement in the Large Millimeter Telescope project)
External links
Obituary at ''Post-Gazette''A story about his colleague Ben Benjamin from Los Alamos, which includes a photograph of George.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Economou, George
1923 births
2003 deaths
Deaths from lung cancer in Pennsylvania
Harvard College alumni
People from Manchester, New Hampshire
Manhattan Project people