John Van Geen
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John van Geen (August 17, 1929 – June 6, 2000) was a researcher at the Stanford Research Institute (now
SRI International SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic d ...
) who was known for his advances in the acoustically coupled modem.


Early life and education

Van Geen was born in 1929 in
Etterbeek Etterbeek ( French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...
, Belgium. In 1953, he received a degree in electrical and radio engineering from Brussels University.


Career

In 1959, Van Geen joined the
Stanford Research Institute SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic d ...
. Van Geen's enhancements to the modem in 1966 allowed the designed receiver to detect data (in the form of bits) and distinguish it from background noise more reliably than any previous models. His advancements also led to the release of the first public modem. It appealed to the public because it mimicked the characteristics of a standard telephone handset at that time. Van Geen retired from the Stanford Research Institute in 1989 after 30 years there. He died on June 6, 2000, in
Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach. History Monterey Monterey was founded in 17 ...
.


References

1929 births 2000 deaths SRI International people Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Belgian computer scientists People from Etterbeek {{compu-scientist-stub