SRI Fellows Awards 1990 – 1999

1999

Charles A. Tyson was a toxicologist in SRI Biosciences, most recognized for his contributions of developing, evaluating and using in vitro systems for understanding or predicting in vivo response. He conducted studies that collectively demonstrated the validity of primary cell cultures to assess biological effects that can occur following animal or human exposure to drugs and chemicals. His research showed the power of in vitro screens for comparative metabolism and transport, cytotoxic potentials to target organs, and drug efficacy for treating diseases and poison overdose. Tyson passed away in 2004.

Earl G. Blackwell, a senior technical advisor in SRI's Engineering & Systems Group, is an expert in global positioning system (GPS) technology and its applications to solving real-world problems. His multidisciplinary research and development of tracking and navigation systems expanded the capabilities of this country’s military resources. GPS technologies for precise positioning of air, ground and space vehicles led to successful testing of the first exo-atmospheric intercept missile defense system. He also pioneered development of highly accurate submeter all-weather weapon delivery for the U.S. Air Force, including GPS attitude techniques—for battlefield training—that reduce dependence on laser scoring devices.

1998

David R. Crosley, a senior staff scientist in SRI's Molecular Physics Laboratory, is an expert in laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy and collision studies of small molecules. His work includes fundamental studies in these areas, and their applications to measurements in flames, the atmosphere, materials processing and environmental monitoring. Measurements made at SRI and elsewhere, using specific techniques and general protocols developed at SRI, have led to an improved understanding of the chemistry of these processes.

1997

Tom G. Slanger, a senior staff scientist in SRI's Molecular Physics Laboratory, is a recognized authority on the chemistry of the upper atmosphere and the night airglow. He has brought to the attention of the community of researchers in this field the fact that large optical telescopes, such as the 10-meter Keck telescope, routinely generate airglow spectra of a quality not previously seen. Extensive analysis of these spectra at SRI are providing new insights into upper atmospheric chemistry, energy flow, and composition.

Gary E. Swan, director of SRI's Center for Health Sciences, is an expert in human health behavior. His research led to a better understanding of the process of relapse following the cessation of smoking. His work also demonstrated that there may be a psychoneurogenetic predisposition to the multiple use of alcohol and tobacco. He was named as the first editor-in-chief of Nicotine & Tobacco Research, the world’s first journal devoted exclusively to the peer-reviewed science of nicotine and tobacco.

1996

Theodore Mill, a senior staff scientist emeritus in SRI's Chemical Science + Technology Laboratory, is an expert in oxidation chemistry and the environmental fate of chemicals. His research on how reactions of sunlight and water change the molecular structure of chemicals in surface waters has led to better understanding of how these reactions occur and to better predictive models for them. Experimental methods for evaluating these chemical changes have been developed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and for European regulatory agencies to enable regulators to conduct more reliable fate assessments on new chemicals introduced into the environment.

Eric M. Pearson, vice president of SRI's Physical Sciences Division, has made key technical contributions and played a leading role in the development of an extremely advanced technology with significant military and commercial applications.

1995

Mohsen Sanai, director of business development in SRI's Poulter Laboratory, is an internationally recognized expert on the behavior of energetic materials and computer simulation of shock propagation and impact dynamics. His research has led to the development of a unique low-density energetic material that has been used extensively for simulation of nuclear effects by U.S. defense agencies. His deep insight of computer simulation has advanced the state of the art in explosion safety analysis and natural gas safety research as well as the design of a class of affordable large-scale simulation tests that allow several orders of magnitude of variation in pressure. He holds a patent on a rigid low-density energetic material, is co-inventor of a foam energetic material and of a bomb-resistant luggage container, and has submitted patent applications for hypervelocity impact simulation techniques, antiarmor shields and antimine blankets.

1992

Enrique H. Ruspini, formerly a principal scientist in SRI's Artificial Intelligence Center, is an expert in the modeling and control of systems operating in highly unstructured, uncertain, environments. He is one of the leading contributors to the development of fuzzy logic and its applications, having pioneered its use in pattern recognition and numerical classification. He has made noteworthy contributions to the development of reactive planners and controllers for intelligent robots and for collaborative teams of such devices. He is also known for theoretical advances explaining the basic concepts underlying approximate-reasoning methods.

Charles "Capp" Spindt, director emeritus of SRI's Vacuum Microelectronics Program, is a pioneering leader in vacuum microelectronics technology, field electron and ion emission devices, and high performance field-emitter array cathodes. He invented and developed techniques for the fabrication of sub-micron size field emission sources based on thin-film technology and advanced lithography systems. The Spindt cathode is a cold cathode with 100% efficiency that produces much higher current densities than traditional thermionic cathodes. Applications include flat-panel displays, microwave tubes, spacecraft charge management and vacuum integrated circuits. He received the Society for Information Display's 1996 Jan Rajchman Prize for the invention of field-emission flat panel displays.

1991

Hanspeter Helm (SRI emeritus) is an internationally recognized expert in optical and molecular physics. His research has focused on ion spectroscopy, imaging of photoelectrons in intense laser fields, and applications specific to semiconductor science.

Richard C. Honey (SRI emeritus) is an expert in microwave antennas and techniques. He created several novel antenna systems for government sponsors. When lasers were invented, he applied them to a number of areas that became of widespread importance. He participated in the development of some of the first laser photocoagulators for treating eye disorders, several types of lidar systems for the study of atmospheric phenomena, and the creation of several novel techniques for studying laser propagation in the sea.

1990

Donald A. Shockey in SRI's Center for Fracture Physics is an authority on material deformation and fracture. He characterizes, models, and predicts the behavior of metals, ceramics, polymers, composites and geologic materials under fatigue, corrosive, impact and explosive loads, with special emphasis on microstructural influences. Currently developing advanced 3D fractography and lightweight fabric armor, he is a Fellow of the American Society of Materials and recipient of the John S. Rinehart award for pioneering work in dynamic fracture. He was awarded the 2006 Murray Medal for distinguished technical contributions to the field of experimental mechanics.

Thomas Piantanida (SRI emeritus), an expert in human visual perception and virtual reality, developed biomedical, architectural, and training applications of virtual-reality systems. His research into the sensory and perceptual requirements of these systems focused on color vision, color vision genetics, stereopsis, stabilized retinal images, and the fill-in mechanism. He developed simulation systems and computational models related to color perception and color imaging.