Elmer William Engstrom (August 25, 1901 – October 30, 1984) was an American

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and corporate executive prominent for his role in the development of

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

Biography

Youth and early career

Engstrom was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in 1901 as son of Emil Engstrom, a power plant engineer, and Anna (Nelson) Engstrom. After attending the Mechanical Arte High School in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, he obtained his BSc in Electrical Engineering at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in 1923. After graduation, in 1923, Engstrom worked at the

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, on

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

technology and sound devices for

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s. When this activity was spun off to the

Radio Corporation of America The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

(RCA) in 1930, he took on further responsibilities for these technologies plus research in electron tubes.

Further career

Engstrom subsequently became head of RCA Laboratories (1943) and Vice President for research (1945), leading RCA's successful

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

efforts in

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

, and

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

. In the immediate aftermath of the war he participated in relief efforts for central Europe and Germany. In his role as head of research he led RCA's development of its first all-electronic color television system after the war, as well as national efforts including BMEWS (the

Ballistic Missile Early Warning System The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS, "474L System", Project 474L) was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve ra ...

) and the TIROS (

Television Infrared Observation Satellite TIROS, or Television InfraRed Observation Satellite, is a series of early weather satellites launched by the United States, beginning with TIROS-1 in 1960. TIROS was the first satellite that was capable of remote sensing of the Earth, enablin ...

) weather-reporting satellite system. RCA's Astro-Electronics Division (1958) was the first organization within the electronics industry to develop space electronic systems. Engstrom became RCA's President (1961-1965) and Chief Executive Officer (1966-1968), serving on its board until 1971. He served on numerous national advisory panels, was a founding member of the

United States 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 of ...

, and received honorary degrees from eighteen colleges and universities including

Drexel Institute of Technology Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, Sc ...

Findlay College The University of Findlay (UF) is a private Christian university in Findlay, Ohio. It was established in 1882 through a joint partnership between the Churches of God General Conference and the city of Findlay. UF has nearly 80 undergraduate ...

, and

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 ...

. The Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 1949 awarded him its silver medal and in 1956 named him a corresponding member. In 1956 he was awarded the John Ericson medal of the American Society of Swedish Engineers. He was an

IEEE Fellow As of 2019, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has 5,082 members designated Fellow, each of whom is associated with one of the 41 societies under the IEEE. The Fellow grade of membership is the highest level of membershi ...

and received numerous awards, including the IEEE Founders Medal in 1966 "For his leadership in management and integration of research and development programs and for his foresighted application of the systems engineering concept in bringing television to the public."

Work

Research and development efforts for television

During the 1930s, Engstrom led RCA's research and development efforts for

, culminating in the company's first commercial black and white television system. Its first complete test took place in 1939, with a transmitter installed on the 85th floor of the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...

. A mechanical scanner provided a 120-line, 24-frame picture from live and film subjects, and extensive field tests took place with the first

cathode ray tube A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms ( oscilloscope), pictu ...

receivers. Although picture quality was poor, the tests conclusively proved the feasibility of television broadcasting. This effort was one of the earliest applications of a "

system engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking p ...

" approach, now standard practice on large technical programs.

Civic and Christian Leader

Engstrom was prominent in a number of educational, professional, and civic organizations. He was active in the

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

chapters of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

, the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

and the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

. He was also a member of

Westerly Road Church Stone Hill Church of Princeton is a gospel-centered, nondenominational church in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The church was founded in 1956 as Westerly Road Church at the intersection of Westerly and Wilson Roads. In 2013, it construct ...

where he served many years as the president of the board of trustees. Engstrom was an active Christian leader, writing for

Campus Crusade for Christ Cru (until 2011 known as Campus Crusade for Christ—informally "Campus Crusade" or simply "crusade"—or CCC) is an interdenominational Christian parachurch organization. It was founded in 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles by B ...

There is one fundamental concept I have learned very clearly from my business experience. There is a need for a definite and clearly understood charter for one's operations. Having established that charter, there is need for complete belief in it and in the program which it provides. In the Christian life the Bible is our charter. It is the supreme authority for our lives and it is sufficient for our needs. I believe it is a requirement of paramount importance that Christ be the Lord of our whole life, and that our allegiance to Him be in no way divisible.

The Department of Engineering and Computer Science at

Cedarville University Cedarville University is a private Baptist university in Cedarville, Ohio. It is chartered by the state of Ohio, approved by the Ohio Board of Regents, and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Established in 1887, the school was origina ...

is named in his honor.

Selected publications

* Engstrom, E. W. "A study of television image characteristics." ''Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers'' 21.12 (1933): 1631-1651. * Engstrom, E. W.
An Experimental Television System: Part I-Introduction
" ''Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers'' 22.11 (1934): 1241-1245. * Engstrom, E. W. "A study of television image characteristics: Part Two: Determination of frame frequency for television in terms of flicker characteristics." ''Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers'' 23.4 (1935): 295-310. * Engstrom, E. W. "Systems engineering: A growing concept." ''Electrical Engineering'' 76.2 (1957): 113-116. * Engstrom, Elmer W. "Science, technology, and statesmanship." ''American Scientist'' 55.1 (1967): 72-79.

References

External links

Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 3 (1989)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engstrom, Elmer William 20th-century American engineers Founding members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Businesspeople from Minneapolis 1901 births 1984 deaths University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni People from Princeton, New Jersey Engineers from New Jersey 20th-century American businesspeople