E. Finley Carter
{{short description|American electrical engineer}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name = E. Finley Carter
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|birth_date = {{birth date|1901|07|01}}
|birth_place = Elgin, Texas
|death_date = {{death date and age|1979|01|18|1901|07|01}}
|death_place = Palo Alto, California
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|citizenship =
|nationality = American
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|fields =
|workplaces = General Electric
United Research Corporation
Sylvania Electric Products
SRI International
|alma_mater = Rice Institute
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|awards = IEEE Fellow
IEEE Founders Medal {{small|(1969)}}
|footnotes =
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Emmett Finley Carter (July 1, 1901 - February 18, 1979) was an electrical engineer that worked at several companies; most notably, he was in upper management of Sylvania Electric Products and was the director, and later president, of SRI International from 1956 to 1963.
Early life and education
Carter was born on July 1, 1901, in Elgin, Texas, to Alfred Hinds Carter and Jimmie Lucretia Stevens.{{cite web|url=http://hindskw.com/KennethHinds/15068.html|title=Alfred Carter Genealogy|work=Genealogy of Ken Hinds|publisher=Hinds Site|access-date=2012-04-22}}{{cite web|url=http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/i/t/James-Aitcheson/GENE1-0050.html|title=Descendants of Fearchar McFinlay|author=James Aitcheson|publisher=Genealogy.com|access-date=2012-04-22}} He graduated from Rice Institute (in Houston, Texas) in 1922 with a degree in electrical engineering.{{cite journal |date=August 1944 |title=E. Finley Carter |journal=Proceedings of the I.R.E. |publisher= |volume=32 |issue=8 |page=444 |doi=10.1109/JRPROC.1944.232401}}
Early career
After graduation, he joined General Electric in Schenectady, New York, where he developed high-power broadcast transmitters for WGY in Schenectady; KGO in Oakland; and KOA in Denver. He held a variety of positions, particularly in research and development, leaving the company in charge of a division.
In 1929, Carter became the director of the radio division of United Research Corporation in New York, which was part of Warner Pictures. In this position, he designed Brunswick radios, circuits, and receivers, and held several patents covering his work during this period.{{cite web|url=http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/E._Finley_Carter|title=E. Finley Carter|work=Global History Network|publisher=IEEE|access-date=2012-04-22}}
He joined Sylvania Electric Products in September 1932 as a consulting engineer, and would eventually become assistant chief engineer; in February 1941, he organized a new industrial relations department of Sylvania, and was elected director of Sylvania in March, 1943.{{cite journal|title=Contributors|journal=Proceedings of the I.R.E.|volume=33|issue=10|page=728|date=October 1945|doi=10.1109/JRPROC.1945.231192}} In 1945, Carter was named Vice President of Engineering and in 1952 he was named Vice President and Technical Director.
Later career
In 1954, Carter joined the Sanford Research Institute (SRI), now known as SRI International, as a Manager of Research Operations, reporting to director Jesse E. Hobson; his duties focused on coordinating interdisciplinary research efforts, particularly the ones that involved both physical and life sciences, or both economics and engineering.
In 1956, Carter became the director of SRI, and a member of its board of directors. In 1959, SRI reorganized its leadership structure, and Carter was named the organization's first president. In 1958, SRI established its Life Sciences division under Bruce Graham.{{cite web|url=http://www.sri.com/about/alumni/alumni-hall-fame-previous-years#Graham|title=Alumni Hall of Fame: Bruce Graham|publisher=SRI International|access-date=2013-06-13|archive-date=2013-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701143346/http://www.sri.com/about/alumni/alumni-hall-fame-previous-years#Graham|url-status=dead}} Carter was president until 1963, and retired from SRI in 1965.
Awards and memberships
Carter was a member of the IEEE, American Radio Relay League, Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Tau Beta Pi. He was a fellow of the Institute of Radio Engineers, and served on its board of directors.
He was named an IEEE Fellow in 1949,{{cite web|url=http://www.sri.com/about/awards-honors/professional-societies|title=Awards to Staff by Professional Societies|publisher=SRI International|access-date=2013-07-01|archive-date=2012-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003152856/http://www.sri.com/about/awards-honors/professional-societies|url-status=dead}} and received the IEEE Founders Medal in 1969 "for outstanding contributions to the electrical engineering profession and to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers through wise and imaginative leadership in the planning and administration of technical developments in electronics and telecommunications".{{cite web |url=http://www.ieee.org/documents/founders_rl.pdf |title=IEEE Founders Medal Recipients |publisher=IEEE |access-date=November 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121102039/http://www.ieee.org/documents/founders_rl.pdf |archive-date=January 21, 2012 |url-status=dead }}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{IEEE Founders Medal}}
{{SRI International Presidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, E. Finley}}
Category:SRI International people
Category:Directors of SRI International
Category:General Electric people