Kerns H. Powers papers, 1954-1979
Part of collection: David Sarnoff Research Center records (2464-09)
Dates
- Creation: 1954-1979
Biographical Note
Kerns H. Powers (1925-2010) was an electrical engineer and the Director of the Communications Research Laboratory at RCA. Powers was born in Waco, Texas in 1925 and was a chief electronics technician in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Following his service, Powers enrolled at the University of Texas, where he earned his B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering while working as a radio engineer at a local station. In 1951, he completed his masters’ degree and was hired by RCA Laboratories at Princeton, New Jersey. Powers’ first position was as a member of the Technical Staff working on the development of color television and high-resolution radar.
Powers took a leave of absence to earn his Sc.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and completed the degree in 1956. Upon his return to RCA, Powers continued working in broadcasting and communications. In 1966, he was appointed Director of the Communications Research Laboratory. As director, Powers continued his research, and oversaw the work of others, in cable television, data transmission, optical video recording and playback, and video communications systems. He was promoted to Staff Vice President, Communications Research in 1977. In 1980, Powers developed the 16:9 aspect ratio, which allowed studios to easily convert movies to a television format.
Powers was a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE,) wrote numerous technical papers in the field of communications, held 16 patents, and was the recipient of multiple awards, including The Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Television Arts and Science in 1992. He retired from RCA in 1987, and died in Princeton in 2010.
Scope and Content
The Kerns H. Powers papers consist of Powers’ correspondence during his time as Director of the Communications Research Laboratory from 1966 to 1976. Additionally, they include nominations and meeting notes from his tenure as Chairman of the Awards Committee for the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). IEEE records also include nominations and meeting notes from Powers’ predecessors.
The IEEE and IRE nomination forms provide substantial biographical detail on RCA scientists that supplements files in the Public Affairs Department vertical files.
The Kerns H. Powers papers consist mostly of Powers’ correspondence during his time as Director of the Communications Research Laboratory from 1966 to 1976. Also included are RCA Laboratories' business plans from 1971 to 1977 that provide a snapshot of RCA's attempts to handle the daunting challenges of the 1970s.
Additionally, the papers include nominations and meeting notes from his tenure as Chairman of the Awards Committee for the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). IEEE records also include nominations and meeting notes from Powers’ predecessors.
The IEEE and IRE nomination forms provide substantial biographical detail on RCA scientists that supplements files in the Public Affairs Department vertical files.
Seven of his lab notebooks (1951-1981) can be found in Record group 26.
RCA Scientists' IRE and IEEE Nomination Forms
- Amarel, Saul
- 1968, 1969, 1971
- Barton, Loy E.
- 1955
- Belohoubek, Erwin F.
- 1974
- Briggs, George R.
- 1972
- Brown, George H.
- 1964
- Burns, Leslie L.
- 1964, 1965, 1966
- Cohen, Robert M.
- 1962
- Cooke, Harry L.
- 1970, 1971
- Crooks, H. Nelson
- 1970, 1971
- DeVore, Henry B.
- 1955
- Engstrom, Elmer W.
- 1958, 1962, 1963
- Epstein, Jess
- 1956
- Flory, Leslie E.
- 1956, 1964
- Forgue, Stanley V.
- 1964
- Gibson, J. James
- 1978
- Goldberg, Edwin A.
- 1971, 1972
- Good, Lowell H.
- 1961
- Gubin, Samuel
- 1968, 1969
- Hammer, Jacob M.
- 1976
- Handelsman, Morris
- 1960, 1961, 1963
- Heilmeier, George H.
- 1972
- Herman, Frank
- 1960
- Hernqvist, Karl G.
- 1968
- Herold, Edward W.
- 1974
- Hershenov, Bernard
- 1971, 1972, 1973
- Herzog, Gerald B.
- 1965
- Hillier, James
- 1956, 1972
- Houghton, William D.
- 1963
- Jenny, Dietrich A.
- 1960, 1961
- Johnson, Edward O.
- 1959
- Johnson, Harwick
- 1959
- Jones, Loren F.
- 1970
- Keiser, Bernhard E.
- 1974, 1979
- Kihn, Harry
- 1961
- Klopfenstein, Ralph W.
- 1971
- Kressel, Henry
- 1973
- Lampert, Murray A.
- 1970
- Law, Harold B.
- 1954, 1974
- Lechner, Bernard J.
- 1970, 1971, 1976
- Lewin, Morton H.
- 1973, 1974
- Leyton, Eric McPhail
- 1963
- Little, David S.
- 1963
- Lo, Arthur W.
- 1965
- Lohman, Robert D.
- 1966, 1967, 1971
- Marsten, Richard B.
- 1968
- Mesner, Max H.
- 1966, 1967
- Metzger, Sidney
- 1962
- Morrison, Wendell C.
- 1954
- Morton, George A.
- 1961
- Mueller, Charles W.
- 1957
- Nergaard, Leon S.
- 1960
- Pankove, Jacques I.
- 1964
- Peter, Rolf W.
- 1957
- Powers, Kerns H.
- 1966, 1967
- Rajchman, Jan A.
- 1959, 1973
- Ramberg, Edward G.
- 1971
- Rappaport, Paul
- 1969
- Rynn, Nathan
- 1978
- Schairer, Otto Sorg
- 1955
- Scott, Joseph H.
- 1973
- Seideman, Irving M.
- 1972, 1974
- Serrell, Robert
- 1957
- Shahbender, Rabah
- 1968, 1969, 1970
- Simon, Ralph E.
- 1971
- Smith, Charles Price
- 1968, 1970
- Smith, Philip T.
- 1959
- Sobol, Harold
- 1971, 1972
- Sommer, Alfred H.
- 1959
- Staras, Harold
- 1968
- Sternberg, Sidney
- 1963
- Sterzer, Fred
- 1968
- Taylor, George W.
- 1972
- Tolson, William A.
- 1955
- Tuska, Clarence D.
- 1956
- Vaccarro, Frank E.
- 1960, 1961
- Vance, Arthur W.
- 1954
- Wallmark, J. Torkel
- 1962, 1963
- Webster, William M.
- 1959
- Weimer, Paul K.
- 1958
- Wolff, Irving
- 1959, 1961, 1962
- Woodward, Oakley M., Jr.
- 1963
- Zaininger, Karl H.
- 1972, 1973, 1974
Arrangement
Folders arranged alphabetically by subject.
Extent
From the Collection: 990 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Additional Description
Access Restrictions
Records subject to 25-year time seal.
Arrangement
Folders arranged alphabetically by subject.
Processing Notes
Processed by Rachael A. Beyer, July 2014.
Subjects
Related Names
Subject
- Powers, K. H. (Kerns H.), 1925-2010 (Person)
Creator
- From the Collection: Sarnoff Corporation (Organization)
- From the Collection: Radio Corporation of America. David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton, N.J (Organization)
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
