RELEASE 10: 

"· - ... ' -. 

NEWS RE LEAS.E 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADIINISTRATION 

NORTH EASTERN OFFICE ' 

30 IEIORIAL DRIVE, CUBR IDGE 42, MASSACHUSETTS 

TELEPHONE: 491-1500 

FOR RELEASE: 

Address by 

Dr. Winston E. Kock, Director 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Electronics Research Center 

to 

Northeast Electronics Research and Engineering Meeting 

(NEREM), Commonwealth Armory, Boston, Massachusetts 

November 4, 1964 

The Mission of the Electronics Research center 

It is a pleasure fa.-me to be here with you today and take 

part in the opening of NEREM-64. I am particularly honored to 

have been asked to address this initial get-together as I know 

you are all here by special invitation and are all distinguished 

leaders in the field of electronics, a field which continues 

to grow in national importance year after year. 

In past years, the NEREM meetings have attracted large 

audiences from near and far primarily because of the excellence 

and the timeliness or "newsworthiness" of the papers presented 

and the program this year pr<:>mises_ to e.quill_ ~r excel those of 

N65 18922 lACCKa ION NUll■■IIJ ITNIIUI 

// 

1HASA CII 011 TNll 011 AO NUlil IJIII 
• 

past years in this regard. On the day that Congress approved 

the Boston-Cambridge area for the location of the NASA Electronics 

Research Center, NEREM automatically became an increasingly 

vital and important function not only for this year but even 

more so in years to come for everyone connected with electronics. 

The growth of the NASA cente1⁄4 and the accompanying strengthening 

of the electronics talent in industry and universities in the 

area, will solidify even further the recognition of Boston and 

Carnbridg~ with their Route 128 complex, as the electronics 

center of the nation and, accordingly, NEREM will take on an 

even greater importance to the continued development of electronics in the United States. 

I recognize in the audience many friends who are not from 

the Boston area who still may question NASA's decision to locate 

the Electronics Center here. As one recently transplanted here 

from Ann Arbor, Michigan, I can say that this doubt was voiced 

in Michigan, in fact rather stro~ly, and we know that many other 

areas were in competition with Massachusetts for the facility. 

But, as an editorial in the Tines Star, a Cincinnati newspaper 

recently stated, and I quote, "The hard fact is that Boston -­

more precisely, Cambridge -- is a natural choice for situating 

-2-
an electronics research center. Since World War II, Boston 

r.as been the center of another 'Flowering of New England'. 

Light industry and research facilities, most of them privately 

owned, have proliferated in industrial parks beyond the city 

limits and a good many of them, if not most, fall into the 

category of electronics. There are two reasons for this 

phenomenon. They are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

and Harvard. The two campuses have ~ffected a revolution in 

an area's economy, for their research facilities am the brains 

which populate them are responsible for the expansion of which 

the NASA site selection is the latest expression." 

Since the continued growth of the NASA Electronics Research 

Center cannot help but have a strong influence on electronics 

not only in New England but elsewhere, I should like to take 

a few moments to tell youc£ the Center's history to date and 

our plans for the future. 

An electronics research center was decided upon by NASA as 

being the most effective method among all possible alternatives 

to increase NASA's electronic research capability. A strength 

in electronics was needed to match the great strengths already 

-3-
possessed by NASA in such fields as propulsion, aerodynamics, 

etc. The group known as the Electronics Research Task Group 

was formed in NASA's Washington headquarters under the direction 

of Dr. Albert Kelley and by September 1 of this year, a strong 

scientific nucleus was assembled, having good capabilities 

in many cf the needed branches in the broad field of electronics 

research. Meanwhile, the North Eastern Office of NASA, under 

~.he leadership of Mr. Franklyn W. Phillips, continued to grow 

in strength administratively and also technically. My appointment as Director of the Center became effective September 1 and 

at that date both the Task Group and the North Eastern Office 

began reporting to the Center Director. I consider myself most 

fortunate to have had Dr. Kelley accept the position of Deputy 

Director of the Center and Mr. Phillips the position of Assistant Director for Administrative Operations. Upon our move on 

November 15th to our temporary quarters, the top six floors of 

the new Technology Square Building in Cambridge, the terms 

"Task Group" and "North Eastern Office" will disappear and the 

combined group, now totalling over 100, will be the Electronics 

Research Center. 

As a research activity, the Center will aim primarily at 

-4-
acquiring knowledge and improving technology rather than procuring and developing large flight systems. Accordingly, it will 

carry out a program of in-house research only large enough to 

establish and maintain a NASA capability for securing the best 

in electronics for all missions. This part of the program will 

provide the basis for assembling a staff of the highest techn i cal competence. 

The Center will originate and manage a program of grants 

and contracts in support of advanced research and technology 

in space electronics in industry, in universities, and in research institutions throughout the nation. By 1969, this program is expected to amount to approximately $46 million per 

year and this will exceed the funds spent for operating the 

Center. 

With respect to the electronics to be used in operational 

systems under development and production, such as in launch 

vehicles and spacecraft, ERC will work closely with those NASA 

centers having responsibility in the various fields so that the 

highest competence in electronics will be made available to 

those Centers. Cort:racts for electronic equipment in operational 

systems will continue to be let by the Center responsible for 

-5-
the total spacecraft or launch vehicle. 

As to the location of the Center, you probably all know 

that the city of Cambridge has offered us a 29-acre site in 

the Kendall Square area almost across the street from MIT, 

and Mr. Webb has provisionally accepted it. The design of a 

master plan for the Center will soon be tackled by an ArchitectEngineer group. we hope to break ground for our first building 

in the late spring of next year. 

Our program of contract research already had its start 

under the aegis of the Task Group and some of their contracts 

are being extended under the supervision of the Center. But 

you may be more interested in learning that our first request 

for proposal to industry for a project to be supported by our 

o~n efforts was advertised in the Commerce Business Daily 

just two days ago. It will run for 12 days and will have a 

-6-
30 day response period. The task is in the area of Systems 

and Trajectory Analysis, particularly an Interplanetary 

Guidance Requirements Study, and it will be monitored by our 

Mr. Richard Hayes. 

In regard to current staffing, we expect the Center 

build-up to be a staff of 250 people by the end of this fiscal 

year and to 2100 at full strength. Many of our administrative 

staff are being recruited from Headquarters or from other NASA 

installations, but we shall bring the great majority of our 

technical staff in from the outside in order to keep from reducing C,Ompetence at existing centers. For example, many of 

you know James Dennison, formerly a Director of Research in 

industry and recently a strong contributor in NASA's Technology 

Utilization Program at Headquarters. He just recently accepted 

an appointment with us to direct our own Technology Utilization 

Program. Also, we expect to announce shortly the first appointment of a world renowned scientist from industry to the post of 

Division Director, one of the five top technical positions at 

the Center. 

But meanwhile the show goes on and the combinea technical strengtt 

-7-
of the Task Group and tle North Eastern Office has permitted 

us to appoint acting heads of our nireresearch laboratories. 

The appointments are: 

Mr. Seymour Schwartz as acting head of the Componen~ 

Technology Laboratory; 

Dr. Frederick Niemann as acting head of the Bower 

Conditioning and Distribution Laboratory; 

Dr. Gene Manella as acting head of the Instrumentation 

Laboratory; 

Mr. Thomas Burke as acting head of the Computation 

Laboratory; 

Mr. Gilmore Trafford as acting head of the Microwave 

Radiation Laboratory; 

Dr. Max Nagel as acting head of the Space Optics 

Laboratory; 

Mr. Richard Hayes as acting head of the Space Guidance 

Laboratory; 

Dr. George Kovatch as acting head of the Control and 

Information Systems Laboratory; 

Mr. Seymour Schwartz as acting head of the Qualifications 

and Standards Laboratory; 

Mr. Ernest Steele as acting head of the Systems 

Laboratory. 

So, we see that the structure or organization chart of the 

-8-
Center is beginning to take shape. 

Speaking of organizational charts reminds me of a story. 

It seems there was a zoo and a new young lion was put in a 

cage with an old lion --a long time resident of the zoo. The 

new lion acted the part of a lion, baring his teeth, growling 

and throwing himself at the cage bars. But the old lion --

he had been around zoos for many years -- the old lion just 

slept all day. But at meal time the old lion got a huge chunk 

of juicy red meat and the young lion was only given a basket 

of fruit. This went on for some time, much to the annoyance 

of the young lion. Finally, he said to the old lion, "Why 

do you get raw meat and all I get is a basket of fruit?" The 

old lion replied, "Look, didn't you see the organizational chart 

when you came in here? It has space for only one lion and we're 

carrying you as a monkey." 

On the technical side, we plan to have five divisions, each 

division coordinating the work of two laboratories. The acting 

laboratory chiefs which have been named,will, for the time being, 

report to the Director's Office. However, as we form the divisions, permanent laboratory chiefs will be appointed and they 

will report to their Division Director. Here is a brief ac-

-9-
count of the work we expect the five divisons to pursue: 

The Component Technology Division will be responsible for 

research in all aspects of electronics materials including 

solid state technology, vacuum devices, electromechanics and 

also power sources. 

The Guidance and Control Division will deal with space 

guidance including inertial reference techniques, trajectory 

analysis, guidance system requirements and instrumentation 

devices for navigation, also with the theory of and new devices for the guidance of stabilization of spacecraft. 

The Systems Division will manage a program in system 

analysis and simulation of guidance, control, tracking, communication and instrumentation functions characteristic of 

spacecraft and space missions. 

The Instrumentatimand Data ProcessiTY3 Division will provide general applied mathematical and computing services for 

the entire center and a flight readiness branch within the 

division will carry out research to advance the state of the 

art in checkout of launch vehicles and spacecraft from inception through assembly, prelaunch, countdown and postlaunch. 

The division will also manage research o~ instruments and 

measurement devices for scientific investigation of the upper 

atmosphere, conduct research studies leading to new sensing 

and measuring methods required in the case of biological and 

-10-
.. . ' . . physiological phenomena and research in instrumentation for 

wind tunnels, shock tubes and plasma facilities. 

The Electromagnetic Division completes the structure of 

our technical organization. Its Microwave Radiation Laboratory 

will include research programs on circuits, propagation, antennas and information links and its Optical Communicc;ions 

Laboratory will concern itself with studies on masers and lasers; 

also on passive devices and information theory. Within these 

divisions and laboratories we shall pursue our research programs 

to increase the lifetime and reliability of electronics which 

go into our ground support equipment, launch vehicles and spacecraft. 

With electronics assuming ever greater importance in the 

success of our space program, our ability to provide reliable, 

capable techniques and systems must keep pace with the needs of 

the space program. we must expand our knowledge and apply it 

to developing a more advanced technology. When armed with adequate advanced technological capabilities, we are confident 

that space engineers will be able to build better, more reliable, 

longer-lived components capable of performing the complex missions 

we now foresee. 

This is the goal for which we~ aim if we are to meet 

our present and future responsibilities in space. 

-11-

I