Lawrence A. "Pat" Hyland (August 26, 1897 – November 24, 1989) was an American electrical engineer. He is one of three individuals, with whom are credited in major contributions to the invention of

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, we ...

, but is probably best known as the man who transformed

Hughes Aircraft The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other pro ...

from Howard Hughes' aviation "hobby shop" into one of the world's leading technology companies. Hyland was born in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada, but his family moved to the U.S. in 1899, where he was raised in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and then in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

until 1926. Hyland then joined 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 ...

as a radio engineer. While at NRL he first demonstrated the reflection of radio waves from aircraft, and also made other contributions to the development of

doppler radar A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by bouncing a microwave signal off a desired target and analyzing how the object's motion has altered the fr ...

. In 1932 Hyland founded the Radio Research Company, which would later be merged into the Bendix Corporation; he eventually became Vice President for Research and Engineering at Bendix. In 1954 Hyland was hired as vice president and general manager of

; he would ultimately become company President and CEO after Howard Hughes' death in 1976. Under Hyland's guidance, Hughes Aircraft continued to diversify and become immensely profitable. Among other accomplishments, the company developed numerous radar systems, electro-optical systems, the first working

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

, aircraft computer systems,

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocke ...

systems,

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

, and many other advanced technologies. Hyland retired from active service in 1980, but he retained close contact with the company until his death. During his lifetime Hyland frequently advised the U.S. government on science and technology. At various times he served as a senior consultant to the

President's Science Advisory Committee The President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) was created on November 21, 1957, by President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower, as a direct response to the Soviet launching of the Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 satellites. PSAC was an upgrad ...

, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

; and he was a member of the Defense Industry Advisory Council. Some of Hyland's honors and awards include: * 1950 – Navy Distinguished Public Services Award for pioneering contributions to radar * 1954 – Honorary Doctorate of Engineering,

Lawrence Institute of Technology Lawrence Technological University (LTU) (Lawrence Tech) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university move ...

* 1955 – Named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) * 1957 – IEEE Pioneer Award for Aeronautical and Navigation Electronics * 1967 – Collier Trophy for the

Surveyor 1 Surveyor 1 was the first lunar soft-lander in the uncrewed Surveyor program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, United States). This lunar soft-lander gathered data about the lunar surface that would be needed for the cr ...

moon landing * 1967 – Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Gold Medal for Meritorious Service * 1974 – IEEE Founders Medal for leadership and management in the field of electronics Hyland's autobiography, ''Call Me Pat: The Autobiography of the Man Howard Hughes Chose to Lead Hughes Aircraft'', was published posthumously in 1994.

External links

Hyland biography on the Engineering and Technology History Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyland, L.A. 1897 births 1989 deaths American electrical engineers Fellow Members of the IEEE Collier Trophy recipients Radar pioneers 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American inventors Bendix Corporation people Canadian emigrants to the United States

Further reading

External links