Harold Barlow
Encyclopedia
Harold Everard Monteagle Barlow FRS (15 November 1899 – 20 April 1989) was a British engineer.
He was born in Islington, London, the son of Leonard Barlow, an electrical engineer. He entered University College, London where, apart from the WWII years (which he spent ar Royal Aircraft Establishment
, Farnborough), he spent most of his working life. He was taught by Ambrose Fleming, who held the Pender Chair
there. Barlow went on to succeed Fleming in that chair, and hence also in the post of head of department. Among his students, Barlow supervised Charles Kao, the 2009 Nobel Laureate for Physics, for a doctoral degree.
In 1988, Barlow was awarded the Royal Medal
of the Royal Society in Engineering category, "In recognition of his distinguished research, particularly on microwave
s and waveguide
s, and of his lasting influence as the founder of an unusually productive research school."
He was born in Islington, London, the son of Leonard Barlow, an electrical engineer. He entered University College, London where, apart from the WWII years (which he spent ar Royal Aircraft Establishment
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
, Farnborough), he spent most of his working life. He was taught by Ambrose Fleming, who held the Pender Chair
Pender Chair
The Pender Chair is the post that is generally held by the head of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering of University College London....
there. Barlow went on to succeed Fleming in that chair, and hence also in the post of head of department. Among his students, Barlow supervised Charles Kao, the 2009 Nobel Laureate for Physics, for a doctoral degree.
Honours and awards
In March, 1961 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. His application citation stated that he: " Has made important contributions to the devising of improved measuring techniques at centimetre wavelengths. In particular has developed methods of measuring centimetre-wave power by radiation pressure and by use of the Hall Effect in semi-conductors; has made detailed studies of the conductor loss in wave guides and has added substantially to knowledge on the characteristics of surface waves. His further application of the Hall Effect to power measurement at low frequencies is likely to prove of considerable electrical engineering value. He has published two books on centimetre-wave measurements and some 35 scientific and technical papers".In 1988, Barlow was awarded the Royal Medal
Royal Medal
The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
of the Royal Society in Engineering category, "In recognition of his distinguished research, particularly on microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
s and waveguide
Waveguide
A waveguide is a structure which guides waves, such as electromagnetic waves or sound waves. There are different types of waveguides for each type of wave...
s, and of his lasting influence as the founder of an unusually productive research school."