Julian J. Bussgang
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Julian Jakub Bussgang (26 March 1925 – 16 September 2023) was a Polish-American mathematician, businessman and author. He was most known for publishing the Bussgang theorem and for his work in the field of
Applied Physics Applied physics is the application of physics to solve scientific or engineering problems. It is usually considered to be a bridge or a connection between physics and engineering. "Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination ...
and communications. He published several technical papers and held six patents. Bussgang was born in Poland in 1925 into an
assimilated Jewish Jewish assimilation ( he, התבוללות, ''hitbolelut'') refers either to the gradual cultural assimilation and social integration of Jews in their surrounding culture or to an ideological program in the age of emancipation promoting conform ...
family. Two weeks after the
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invaded Poland in September 1939, Bussgang's family fled Poland for fear of religious persecution. For the next decade, Bussgang was a refugee moving from country to country with his family. After serving in the Polish Division of the British Army in
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 ...
, he immigrated to the
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where he established a career in the field of signal processing, information theory, and communications. He founded the high technology firm Signatron Inc. in 1962, which was acquired by Sundstrand Corporation in 1984. After his retirement, Bussgang volunteered in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
and
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
with the International Executive Service Corps to help privatize Polish industrial firms. In 2011, President Komorowski presented Bussgang with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Poland at The Polish Consulate in
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for his activities promoting Polish-Jewish dialogue. Along with his wife, Fay, he translated several books from Polish to English.


Early life and education

Bussgang was born in
Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
, Poland (now Lviv,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
) on 26 March 1925. After the beginning of World War II, his family was able to emigrate to Palestine. Thus, he completed his secondary education at a temporary Polish school in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, and at age 18 joined the
Polish Second Corps The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...
commonly known as the Anders' Army after its commander Polish General
Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyears ...
, which became a part of the
British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces, ...
. When the war in Italy ended, General Anders arranged for the qualified Polish soldiers to enter Italian universities and make up for the time they had lost while fighting during the war. Thus, Bussgang enrolled at the
Polytechnic University of Turin The Polytechnic University of Turin ( it, Politecnico di Torino) is the oldest Italian public technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban Planning and Industrial Design, and is co ...
and completed the first year of engineering in an accelerated course. When the Allies wanted Italy to return to normalcy, they decided to move the Polish soldiers out of Italy. They gave them the choice of either going back to Poland or to England. Bussgang decided to go to England, where he entered Polish University College, a temporary school created in order to qualify its students to take
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
exams. In 1949, Bussgang received his US visa after waiting several years. Later that year, he completed his B.Sc.(Eng.) from the University of London, taking his final exam in
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.


Career

Bussgang immigrated to the United States in 1949. He went to MIT and received his MSEE in 1951. His thesis was the Bussgang theorem first published as an RLE Report. After his graduation, he began working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Later, alongside his work at Lincoln Laboratory, he enrolled at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
for a PhD in Applied Physics, which he received in 1955. After he graduated, he joined the RCA Aerospace Division in Waltham, MA (later in Burlington, MA). He started as an engineer but then was promoted first as Group Leader, then as Manager of Radar Development, and later became Manager of Applied Research. In 1962, Bussgang left RCA and founded Signatron Inc., an electronics firm located in Lexington. When he started thinking about founding Signatron in 1962, he started teaching at
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
and continued until 1965. He also taught a course at Harvard from 1964 to 1965. Signatron developed high data rate,
troposcatter Tropospheric scatter, also known as troposcatter, is a method of communicating with microwave radio signals over considerable distances – often up to and further depending on frequency of operation, equipment type, terrain, and climate facto ...
(over the horizon) modems, HF modems and radio channel simulators. After leaving RCA, Bussgang worked as a consultant and was involved with the Apollo program. He was a consultant to Grumman Aircraft in the selection, simulation, and evaluation of Rendezvous Radar and Landing Radar for LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) for man's first trip to the moon. In 1984, he sold Signatron to the aerospace firm Sundstrand Corporation but was asked to stay with the company for three more years, so he retired in 1987. Bussgang also served as a consultant to
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
, Hughes Aircraft,
Philco-Ford Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased by Ford and, from 196 ...
, IBM,
Arthur D. Little Arthur D. Little is an international management consulting firm originally headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1886 and formally incorporated in 1909 by Arthur Dehon Little, an MIT chemist who had discovered acetate. ...
, Raytheon Company, RCA, and Sperry Univac among others. After retirement, Bussgang volunteered twice in Warsaw and once in Kraków with International Executive Service Corps to help privatize Polish industrial firms. In May 2014, he was promoted to the rank of Captain (inactive) in the Polish Army. In 2011, President Komorowski presented Bussgang with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland at the Polish Consulate in New York City, for his activities promoting Polish-Jewish dialogue. Bussgang served as Associate Editor of ''Radio Science'', from 1976 to 1978, and was a member of the Board of Overseers of the Museum of Science in Boston, from 1989 to 1995.


IEEE

Bussgang was active in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers –
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 ...
ormerly IREfrom 1952. He served on the IEEE Life Members Committee and as a reviewer on various IEEE Transactions. He served on the Boston Section's Fellows and Awards Committee and was also the Education Chair. In 1989, he became Chair of the Boston Section of IEEE. He served in these positions until 1993. From 1995 to 2007, he was the Boston Section representative to the Central New England Council of IEEE. He was twice elected to three-year terms on the Board of Governors of the IEEE Information Theory Society. He was the nominator for the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Milestone and was given the regional professional leadership award by IEEE in 1995.


Books and papers

Bussgang wrote over twenty scientific papers and prepared two books that have not yet been published. One is a monograph with David Middleton on Truncated Sequential Tests, the other is ''Signal Detection and Estimation; Problems and Solutions'' with Nicolas Johnson. In 1994, his own story – ''Haunting Memories'' – was published as a chapter in ''We Shall Not Forget! Memories of the Holocaust.'' With his wife, Fay, he translated from Polish to English two volumes of ''The Last Eyewitnesses: Children of the Holocaust Speak'' – in 1998 and in 2005. These books, originally published by the Association of the Children of the Holocaust in Poland, contain testimonies by different authors highlighting experiences during World War II. In 2010, he translated from Polish to English the book, ''Polish Jew-Polish Soldier: 1939–1945'', a collection of essays first published in the UK in 1945 by a Jewish chaplain of the Polish Army 2nd Corps. Bussgang and his wife were the founders and for over twenty years, editors of ''Gazeta'', a quarterly publication of the American Association for Polish-Jewish Studies, now published by the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture.


Death

Julian J. Bussgang died at his home in
Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...
, on 16 September 2023, at the age of 98.


Awards and honors

*1973 – Fellow of IEEE *1995 – IEEE-USA Regional Professional Leadership Award by IEEE *2000 – IEEE Third Millennium Medal *2005 – IEEE Boston Section Distinguished Service Award *2011 – Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland


Bibliography

*''A Monograph on Truncated Sequential Tests'' (1967); to be published. *Translator: ''The Last Eyewitnesses: Children of the Holocaust Speak (Jewish Lives)'' (1998) *Translator: ''The Last Eyewitnesses, Volume 2: The Children of the Holocaust Speak (Jewish Lives)'' (2005) *Translator: ''Polish Jew-Polish Soldier: 1939–1945'' (2010) *Co-Editor: ''DZIALOSZYCE Memorial Book – an English translation of Sefer Yizkor shel kehilat Dzialoshitz ve-ha-seviva'' (2012) *The chapter ''Consulting Services'' in ''How to Start Your Own Business'', William Putt, Editor, MIT Technology Press, 1974.


Selected publications

*Chapter: “David Middleton” in L. Cohen, H. V. Poor, and M. O. Scully, Classical, Semi-classical and Quantum Noise, Springer, New York, pp. 1–7, 2011 *J. J. Bussgang and S. A. Parl, chapter “HF Communications” in John G. Proakis ed., Wiley Encyclopedia of Telecommunications, vol. 2, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, 2003, pp. 946–958. *J. M. Zagami, S. A. Parl, J. J. Bussgang, and K. Devereaux Melillo, Providing Universal Location Services Using a Wireless E911 Location Network, IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 66–71, April 1998. *J. J. Bussgang, E. H. Getchell, B. Goldberg and P. F. Mahoney, Stored channel simulation of tactical VHF radio links, IEEE Trans. Communications, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 154–163, Feb. 1976. *J. J. Bussgang, L. Ehrman, and J. W. Graham, Analysis of nonlinear systems with multiple inputs, Proc. IEEE, v. 62, no. 8, pp. 1088–1119, Aug. 1974. *J. J. Bussgang, P. Nesbeda, and H. Safran, Unified analysis of range performance of C-W and Pulse Doppler Radar, Proc. IRE, v. 47(10), Oct. 1959, also v. 48, Oct. 1960; Reprinted in D. Barton, Radar Equation, Artech House, 1974. *J. J. Bussgang and M. Leiter, Error Performance of Quadrature Pilot Tone Phase-Shift Keying, IEEE Trans. Communication Technology, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 526–529, August 1968. *J. J. Bussgang and M. Leiter, Error performance of differential phase-shift transmission over a telephone line, IEEE Trans. Communication Technology, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 411–419, June 1968. *J. J.Bussgang and D. S. O. Middleton, “Optimum sequential detection of signals in noise,” IEEE Trans. Info. Theory, vol. IT-1, pp. 5 – 18, Dec. 1955. Reprinted in S. S. Haykin, Detection and Estimation: Applications to Radar (Benchmark papers in electrical engineering and computer science; 13), Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, 1975. *J. J. Bussgang, “Crosscorrelation functions of amplitude-distorted Gaussian signals,” MIT-RLE Technical Report #216, pp. 1–14, March 1952, reprinted: A. H. Haddad, Nonlinear Systems, Benchmark Papers, vol.10, Halsted Press, 1975. *J. J. Bussgang, L. Ehrman & J. W. Graham, "Analysis of nonlinear systems with multiple inputs," Proc. IEEE, v. 62, #8, 1974. *J. J. Bussgang, “Some properties of binary convolutional code generators,” IEEE Trans. Info. Theory, v. 11, #1, 1965.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bussgang, Julian J. 1925 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine expatriates in Italy Emigrants from Mandatory Palestine to the United Kingdom British emigrants to the United States American male non-fiction writers Harvard University alumni 21st-century American translators Scientists from Lviv MIT Lincoln Laboratory people Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Northeastern University faculty Polish military personnel of World War II