Lloyd V. Berkner

Biography

Abstract

Lloyd Viel Berkner made significant contributions to geophysics and to the development of international cooperation in science.

Important Dates

February 1, 1905Birth, Milwaukee (Wis.).

1927Obtained BS, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (Minn.).

1927 – 1928Electrical Engineer, United States Bureau of Lighthouses.

1928 – 1930Engineer, Byrd Antarctic Expedition.

1930 – 1933Engineer, National Bureau of Standards.

1933 – 1941Physicist, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington (D.C.).

1941 – 1945Member, Radio and Electrical Group, Engineering Division, Bureau of Aeronautics (1941-1943) and Head, Electronic Materiel Division, Radio and Electrical Group, Engineering Division (1943-1945), United States Navy.

1946 – 1947Executive Secretary (1946-1947) and Consultant (1947-1951), Research and Development Board, United States National Military Establishment (now Department of Defense).

1947 – 1951Section Chief, Exploratory Geophysics of the Atmosphere, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington (D.C.).

1948Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1950 – 1952Consultant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1951 – 1960President (1951-1960); Member, Board of Trustees (1951-1960); and Chair, Executive Committee (1951-1960), Associated Universities, Inc, Washington (D.C.).

1952 – 1953Consultant, National Security Resources Board.

1953 – 1959Member, United States National Committee, International Geophysical Year.

1955 – 1958President, International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU).

1956Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1957 – 1958Member, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

1957 – 1960President, International Union of Radio Science.

1958 – 1960Chair, Space Science Board, National Academy of Sciences.

1959 – 1962President, American Geophysical Union.

1960 – 1965President, Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, Dallas (Tex.).

June 4, 1967Death, Washington (D.C.).

Occupation

Geophysicist.

Places

Birth

Milwaukee (Wis.)

Undergraduate Education

Minneapolis (Minn.)

Employment

Washington (D.C.)

Dallas (Tex.)

Death

Washington (D.C.)

Subjects

Geophysics.

Intellectual cooperation.

Ionosphere.

Shortwave radio.

Relationships

People

Colleagues

Briggs, Lyman J. (Lyman James), 1874-1963

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Bush, Vannevar, 1890-1974

Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Coblentz, William W. (William Weber), 1873-1962

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Dryden, Hugh L. (Hugh Latimer), 1898-1965

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Fleming, J. A. (John Adam), 1877-1956

Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Forbush, Scott E., 1904-1984

Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Hafstad, Lawrence, 1904-

Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Kistiakowsky, George B. (George Bogdan), 1900-1982

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Meggers, William F. (William Frederick), 1888-1966

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Purcell, Edward M.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Robertson, H. P. (Howard Percy), 1903-1961

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Schubauer, Galen B. (Galen Brandt), 1904-

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Tuve, Merle Antony, 1901-1982

Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Van Allen, James A. (James Alfred), 1914-2006

Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Vestine, E. H. (Ernest Harry), 1906-1968

Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Additional

Beckler, David Z., 1918-

Bryant, John H.

Goldberg, Leo

Greenstein, Jesse L. (Jesse Leonard), 1909-2002

Helliwell, Robert A.

Malone, Thomas F.

Mange, Phillip, 1925-

McFarlan, Ronald Lyman

Newell, Homer E. (Homer Edward), 1915-1983

Odishaw, Hugh

Overhage, Carl F. J.

Povzner, A. D.

Seitz, Frederick, 1911-2008

Singer, S. Fred (Siegfried Fred), 1924-

Whitaker, Douglas Merritt, 1904-

Institutions

Major Positions

Associated Universities, Inc.

President; Member, Board of Trustees; and Chair, Executive Committee.

Byrd Antarctic Expedition

Engineer.

Carnegie Institution of Washington

Section Chief, Exploratory Geophysics of the Atmosphere.

Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism

Physicist.

Graduate Research Center of the Southwest

President.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Consultant.

United States. Bureau of Light-Houses

Electrical Engineer.

United States. National Bureau of Standards

Engineer.

United States. National Security Resources Board

Consultant.

United States. Navy Department. Bureau of Aeronautics

Member, Radio and Electrical Group, Engineering Division and Head, Electronic Materiel Division, Radio and Electrical Group, Engineering Division.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

American Geophysical Union

President.

International Council of Scientific Unions

President.

International Geophysical Year, 1957-1958

Member, United States National Committee.

International Union of Radio Science

President.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member and Chair, Space Science Board.

United States. Department of Defense. Research and Development Board

Executive Secretary and Consultant.

United States. President's Science Advisory Committee

Member.

University of Minnesota. Department of Electrical Engineering

Obtained BS in 1927.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

International Science and Technology Journal interviews, 1962-1967.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Lloyd V. Berkner papers, 1905-1967.

Manuscript Division

Library of Congress

James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA

Reminiscences of the International Geophysical Year, 1959 June 4.

Oral History Research Office

Columbia University

Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027, USA

Selected interviews with notes on the history of radar from the John Bryant collection.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Department of Terrestrial Magnetism Ionospheric Section records, 1927-1959, (bulk 1942-1946).

Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Library and Archives

Carnegie Institution of Washington

5241 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA

John Bryant collection.

Archives

Historical Electronics Museum, Inc.

P. O. Box 746, M.S. 4015, Baltimore, MD 21203, USA

Lloyd Viel Berkner: 1905-1967, Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

National Academy of Sciences

Oral history interview with Artjom Powsner and Lilia Morozovskia, 1999 January 19 and 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with David Z. Beckler, 2001 August 22 and December 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral History interview with Fred Singer, 1991 April 23.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Frederick Seitz, 1994 July 19.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Homer Edward Newell, 1980 July 17 and October 20.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Jesse Leonard Greenstein, 1974 July 31.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Leo Goldberg, 1978 May 16 and 17, and 1982.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Phillip Mange, 2002 December 30 and 2003 March 25.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Robert A. Helliwell, 2002 September 17.

University Archives

Ohio State University

2700 Kenny Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

Oral history interview with Ronald Lyman McFarlan, 1979 December 18.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Thomas F. Malone, 1995 January 4.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Science and foreign relations : international flow of scientific and technological information.

Science in space, edited by Lloyd V. Berkner [and] Hugh Odishaw.

The age of electronics; Lincoln Laboratory decennial lectures [by] Lloyd V. Berkner [and others] Edited by Carl F.J. Overhage.

The scientific age : the impact of science on society / by L.V. Berkner.

Subject

Lloyd Berkner, Merle Tuve, and the Federal Role in Radio Astronomy

Lloyd Veil Berkner Dies, Was Adventurer and NAS Treasurer Physics Today obituary.

Science, Cold War and the American State: Lloyd V. Berkner and the Balance of Professional Ideals

The Carnegie institution of Washington and radio astronomy : prelude to an American national observatory