George Robert Carruthers (October 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020)
was an African American inventor,
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
and
space scientist
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science:
Space science encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and physical bodies
In common usage ...
. Carruthers perfected a compact and very powerful
ultraviolet camera/spectrograph for
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
to use when it launched
Apollo 16 in 1972. He designed it so astronauts could use it on the lunar surface, making all adjustments inside their bulky space suits. Upon instructions from Carruthers, they used the camera to record the Earth's outermost atmosphere, noting its variations, and also mapped portions of the far-ultraviolet sky recording stars and galaxies, and the gaseous media between them. In 1970, sending his instruments aboard Aerobee sounding rockets, he had demonstrated that
molecular hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...
exists in the
interstellar medium. Among numerous citations and awards, in 2003, Carruthers was inducted into the
National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also oper ...
, and he received an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
for
Engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
from
Michigan Technological University. He also was awarded the 2011 National Medal for Technology and Invention from
President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
, "For invention of the Far UV Electrographic Camera, which significantly improved our understanding of space and earth science."
Life and work
Carruthers, who is
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
, was born October 1, 1939, in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, to George and Sophia Carruthers.
His father was a civil engineer and his mother was a homemaker. His family initially lived in
Milford, Ohio
Milford is a city in Clermont and Hamilton counties founded in 1796, in the U.S. state of Ohio, along the Little Miami River and its East Fork in the southwestern part of the state. It is a part of the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. The ...
. At an early age George, through reading popular space fiction and the early 1950s Colliers' series on space flight, developed an interest in physics, science and
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
, which his father also encouraged. At the age of 10, he built his first telescope out of cardboard tubing and lenses purchased using money he earned as a delivery boy.
His father died when Carruthers was 12, and at that time his family moved to the
South Side of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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where they stayed with relatives until George went to college. He did not perform well in elementary school, earning poor grades in math and physics. However, he won three separate science fair awards during this time.
Also as a child, he enjoyed visiting Chicago museums, libraries and the
Adler Planetarium
The Adler Planetarium is a public museum in Chicago, Illinois, dedicated to astronomy and astrophysics. It was founded in 1930 by local businessman Max Adler. Located on the northeastern tip of Northerly Island on Lake Michigan in the city, th ...
that supplemented his avid science-fiction reading. After
Sputnik he experimented with model rocketry, becoming a member of the junior division of the Chicago Rocket Society and various science clubs.
After graduating from
Englewood High School,
he entered the College of Engineering at the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
, and received a
Bachelor of Science degree
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in physics in 1961. Carruthers did his graduate work at the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
and earned a
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in
nuclear engineering in 1962. Carruthers received a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in aeronautical and astronautical engineering in 1964. While conducting his graduate studies, Carruthers worked as researcher and teaching assistant studying plasma and gases.
As he completed his thesis, he applied for a postdoctoral appointment at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory funded by NSF, and spent the next 38 years of his life there.
During the 1980s, Carruthers helped create a program called the
Science & Engineers Apprentice Program,
["Science & Engineers Apprentice Program"]
Retrieved on 14 January 2021. which allows high school students to spend a summer working with scientists at the
Naval Research Laboratory
The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...
(NRL). Carruthers also worked with NRL's community outreach organization, and as such helped support several educational activities in the sciences in the
Washington D.C.
)
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area. He was involved in many initiatives to encourage involvement of African Americans in science and technology, and to encourage them to become technologically literate, such as Project SMART (formed by Congressman
Mervyn Dymally">.Dymally), the
National Society of Black Physicists
The National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), established in the United States in 1977, is a non-profit professional organization with the goal to promote the professional well-being of African Diaspora physicists and physics students within the ...
, and th
National Technical Association He frequently participated in public observing events at
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
and SMART Day programs at the
National Air and Space Museum.
Since 1983 he was Chairman of the Editing and Review Committee and Editor, ''Journal of the National Technical Association''. This journal included biographical sketches and career profiles of prominent African American scientists and engineers, and was distributed to high schools and to colleges.
During the summers of 1996 and 1997 he taught a course in Earth and Space Science for D.C. Public Schools Science teachers. He also helped develop a series of videotapes on Earth and Space science for high-school students.
Since 2002, retiring from NRL, Carruthers taught a two-semester course in Earth and Space Science at
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
sponsored by a NASA Aerospace Workforce Development Grant.
On February 12, 2009, Carruthers was honored as a Distinguished Lecturer at the
Office of Naval Research for his achievements in the field of space science.
On February 1, 2013, Dr. Carruthers was awarded the 2012
National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
.
He was a member of the
American Astronomical Society, the
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...
, the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...
, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science and the
National Society of Black Physicists
The National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), established in the United States in 1977, is a non-profit professional organization with the goal to promote the professional well-being of African Diaspora physicists and physics students within the ...
.
He lived most of his life in
Washington, DC
)
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.
Carruthers died of congestive heart failure on December 26, 2020, in Washington D.C.
Inventions and discoveries
Carruthers is considered the inventor of the first far-ultraviolet electrographic detector design that was robust enough to operate in space as the heart of an
ultraviolet camera/spectrograph.
His early work with this design detected an upper limit to the amount of
molecular hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...
that exists in the
interstellar medium, answering numerous questions astronomers were asking at that time about what was then referred to as the "missing mass" problem.
![George Carruthers, right, and William Conway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/George_Carruthers%2C_right%2C_and_William_Conway.jpg)
In 1964, Carruthers began employment for the
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, where his work focused on far ultraviolet astronomy.
1969 was the year he received a patent for his invention, the "Image Converter," which detected electromagnetic radiation in short wavelengths,
and in 1970, he made the first examination of molecular hydrogen in space.
Two years later, Carruthers developed the first moon-based observatory, the
Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph
The Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph (UVC) was one of the experiments deployed on the lunar surface by the Apollo 16 astronauts. It consisted of a telescope and camera that obtained astronomical images and spectra in the far ultraviolet region ...
, which was used in the
Apollo 16 mission.
In 1986, one of Carruthers' inventions captured an ultraviolet image of
Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the on ...
. Among other projects, in 1991, he developed a camera that was used in a
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
Mission.
Awards
*
Arthur S. Flemming Award (Washington Jaycees), 1970
*Exceptional Achievement Scientific Award Medal
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
1972
*Black Engineer of the Year Award 1987
*Warner Prize of the
American Astronomical Society
*
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
Fellow
*Honorary Doctor of Engineering,
Michigan Technological University
*Inducted into the
National Inventors' Hall of Fame, 2003
*
National Medal of Technology and Innovation, 2011
References
External links
George Carruthers, AboutVideo clip highlighting Dr. George Carruthers' distinguished career as a space scientistVideo of Carruthers talking about his work from the National Science & Technology Medals Foundation
Oral history interview transcript with George Carruthers on 18 August 1992, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carruthers, George Robert
1939 births
2020 deaths
Engineers from Illinois
20th-century American inventors
Grainger College of Engineering alumni
Scientists from Chicago
Scientists from Cincinnati
African-American engineers
African-American inventors
21st-century American physicists
People from Milford, Ohio
Engineers from Ohio
Members of the National Society of Black Physicists
Englewood Technical Prep Academy alumni
21st-century African-American scientists
20th-century African-American people