Richard Bolt

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Richard Henry Bolt , better known as Richard Bolt or Dick Bolt , (born April 22, 1911 in Beijing , China , † January 13, 2002 in Boston , Massachusetts ) was an American professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with main area Acoustics . He was one of the founders of Bolt Beranek and Newman (also BBN Technologies), which built the Arpanet , a forerunner of the Internet .

Early life

Bolt was born in Beijing to two medical missionaries. His family returned to America in 1916 and settled in California. Bolt graduated from Berkeley High School in California in 1928 and then went to college. Bolt then attended graduate school and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in architecture . Bolt developed a strong interest in acoustics during his studies .

Immediately after graduating in 1933, he married Katherine Mary Smith. The couple went on a honeymoon in Europe. In the course of this honeymoon, Bolt made the acquaintance of a number of scientists and lived in Berlin for this time . The honeymoon was extended by ten months, Bolt learned German and dealt with the acoustics.

Return to Berkeley

He returned to the United States in 1934 and was admitted to Berkeley University to complete his Masters of Arts in physics. He received his PhD in 1939 and entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to complete his research in sound transmission. He was a physics professor at MIT for several decades and made a significant contribution to early Internet technologies.

MIT and BBN

In 1948, Bolt teamed up with other professors at MIT. Together with Leo Beranek and Robert Newman, he founded the technology consultancy BBN Technologies, which was significantly involved in the development of the Arpanet. In 1949 he became a Fellow of the American Physical Society . In 1952, Bolt was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

BBN also worked on projects such as the audio analysis of the assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy and the "18.5-minute gap" on the Nixon tapes ( Watergate affair ) as well as improving the sound quality in concert halls.

In later years (1963) BBN designed the first modem to enable communication between multiple computers. BBN was also involved in the development of the e-mail technology. In 1971, BBN researcher Ray Tomlinson introduced the “@” symbol for email addresses.

retirement

Richard Bolt retired in 1976.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Acoustical Society of America - Gold Medal Award 1979 - RHBolt . ASA website - accessed February 2, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Bolt, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bolt, Richard Henry (full name); Bolt, Dick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American physicist
DATE OF BIRTH April 22, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Beijing , China
DATE OF DEATH January 13, 2002
Place of death Boston , Massachusetts