Russell and Sigurd Varian
Russell Varian | |
---|---|
Washington, District of Columbia, United States | |
Died | July 28, 1959 Alaska, United States | (aged 61)
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Stanford University (BS, MS) |
Organization | Sierra Club |
Known for | Co-invented the klystron, co-founded Varian Associates |
Spouses |
Dorothy Hill (m. 1947) |
Children | 3 |
Parent | John Osborne Varian (father) Agnes Varian (mother) |
Relatives | Sheila Varian (niece) |
Awards | John Price Wetherill Medal (1950) |
Sigurd Varian | |
---|---|
California Polytechnic State University (did not graduate) | |
Occupation(s) | Pilot, airplane mechanic, engineer |
Known for | Co-invented the klystron, co-founded Varian Associates |
Spouse | Winifred H. Varian |
Children | 2 |
Parent | John Osborne Varian (father) Agnes Varian (mother) |
Relatives | Sheila Varian (niece) |
Awards | John Price Wetherill Medal (1950) |
Russell Harrison Varian (April 24, 1898 – July 28, 1959) and Sigurd Fergus Varian (May 4, 1901 – October 18, 1961)
In 1948 they founded
Childhood
The Varian brothers' parents,
John and Agnes had three sons, Russell, Sigurd and Eric.[8] The family was not wealthy,[9] but noted in the community for being loving, humorous and adventurous. All three boys exhibited an early fascination with electricity, which included pranks such as attaching electrical outlets to bed springs and door knobs to give visitors minor electric shocks.[8] Russell was named in honor of the poet "Æ", George Russell, whom John had befriended in Ireland.[5] Russell was dyslexic, and in his childhood he was considered by many to be "slow", although later events would demonstrate the true extent of his intellect; Sigurd was the more outgoing of the older two siblings.[10]
Composer Henry Cowell befriended Russell in 1911,[11] when both were in their teens. A piano sonata that Cowell composed for Russell brought Cowell to the attention of John Varian,[12] who, in 1917, asked Cowell to write the prelude for a stage production of John's Irish mythical poetry cycle, The Building of Banba. This piece, titled The Tides of Manaunaun, became Cowell's most famous and widely performed work.[11]
Cowell was also a music tutor of
Careers
Russell earned bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Stanford University, compensating for his learning disabilities with what was described as hard work and "sheer force of will".[10] Because of his reading and math difficulties, he took six years to graduate, switching from social sciences to physics. His application to the PhD program at Stanford was rejected. He completed his master's degree in 1927, and went to work at Humble Oil, staying there for five months and receiving a patent for a vibrating magnetometer. Later he went to work in the San Francisco area and was introduced to television technology through a job with Philo Farnsworth.[10][15][16]
Sigurd attended
In the early 1930s, in addition to a strong interest in navigation,[15] Sigurd became concerned about the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany and the political situation in Spain.[10] His experience as a pilot in Central and South America made him particularly aware of the vulnerability of the Panama Canal to enemy attack, as he believed it was relatively simple to fly over a military target at night or in heavy overcast sky in the absence of a defense warning system.[19] Edward Ginzton, who later helped the brothers establish Varian Associates, stated: "[Sigurd] felt that Hitler could easily establish bases in Central America, from which his planes could fly into the United States at night, or at low elevations, and drop bombs, without ever being detected."[10]
Working together
Sigurd was interested in all-weather navigation systems,
After several rejected models, Russell devised a way to use velocity modulation to allow electrons to flow in bunches and to control their speed.[10] The concept of velocity modulation he used had already been described by A. Arsenjewa Heil and Oskar Heil in 1935, though the Varians were unlikely to have known of the work.[20] The brothers and Hansen ultimately created the klystron, the first tube that could generate electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies.[2] Russell was responsible for the design and Sigurd built the first prototype,[3] which was completed in August 1937.
The klystron, a microwave tube,
Post-war
The Varian brothers and their associates individually left Sperry and returned to the West Coast between 1945 and 1948. Each brother developed other inventions. Russell gained patents for technology related to
Today, the Russell Varian Prize, sponsored by Agilent Technologies (Varian, Inc. prior to 2010), honors the memory of Russell Varian and recognizes "innovative contributions of high and broad impact on state-of-the-art NMR technology", and carries with it a prize of €15,000.[28] It is presented annually at EUROMAR, the annual joint conference of the European magnetic resonance scientific community, including the UK Royal Society of Chemistry NMR group, AMPERE Congress, and the European Experimental NMR Conference (EENC).[29] The American Vacuum Society instituted the Russell and Sigurd Varian Award in 1983 for continuing graduate students to honor the Varian brothers.[30]
Varian Associates
Russell and Sigurd founded Varian Associates in 1948, along with Hansen and Ginzton. They initially created the company to commercialize the klystron
The company was initially headquartered in San Carlos, California,[33] and started with only $22,000 in funding.[31] Russell's insistence that the company be owned by its employees and his refusal to accept outside investors led to problems in raising additional capital.[34] Hansen mortgaged his home for $17,000 to raise additional cash, and the group sought out funds from their friends.[34] Ultimately, however, the company raised $120,000 of necessary capital via an offer of stock to all employees, directors, consultants, and a few sympathetic local investors who shared the company's goals.[34] Military contracts for technology deemed necessary during the Cold War, including some classified projects, also helped the firm succeed.[34] In 1953, Varian Associates moved its headquarters to Palo Alto, California,[35] at Stanford Industrial Park – noted as the "spawning ground of Silicon Valley" – and was the first firm to occupy a site there.[3] Several spin-off corporations developed after the death of the Varian brothers; one branch, Varian, Inc., was acquired by Agilent Technologies in May, 2010.[36]
One of Varian Associates' major contracts in the 1950s was to create a fuse for the
Most of the founders of Varian Associates, including Russell and Sigurd, had progressive political leanings,
In 1998, the Congressional Record noted the 50th anniversary of the founding of Varian Associates, which then employed 7,000 people at 100 plants in nine countries. It had branched out into health care systems, analytical equipment, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The company had been awarded more than 10,000 patents. California's 14th congressional district Representative Anna Eshoo called the company a "jewel in the crown of ... Silicon Valley."[38]
Families and personal lives
Russell and Sigurd's brother, Eric Varian, remained in the Halcyon area. He had a career in the central California coast as an electrical contractor,
Russell
Russell married twice. From his first marriage, he had a son, George Russell Varian, born on April 22, 1943.
Russell was a longtime member of the Sierra Club and, as part of the organization's conservation committee, worked on efforts to acquire land to further the conservation efforts of the organization. In addition, Russell and Dorothy worked to preserve Castle Rock.[3][15] He was also a member of the League for Civic Unity and the ACLU.[37] He liked to sing Irish ballads learned from his father.[43]
Sigurd
Sigurd met and married his wife, Winifred, in Mexico. She was the daughter of the
Deaths and legacy
Both Russell and Sigurd died unexpectedly. Russell died of a heart condition in 1959 on a hiking trip in Alaska.
On October 18, 1961, Sigurd crashed his private plane into the Pacific Ocean while flying from
The Varian family's interest in the conservation of California's natural heritage has been carried on by Sigurd's son, Jack, owner of the V6 Ranch near Parkfield, California, which consists of more than 17,000 acres in two counties. The ranch is entirely protected by a conservation easement that is part of the California Rangeland Trust's Diablo Range Project.[53][54]
See also
- Continental Electronics, a subsidiary from 1985 to 1990
- Communications & Power Industries, a 1995 spin-off, which includes the Varian brothers' original klystron business
- Intevac, a 1991 spin off
- Varian Data Machines, a former division of Varian Associates that sold minicomputers
- Varian, Inc., a scientific instrument company spun off from Varian Associates in 1999.
- Varian Medical Systems
Footnotes
- ^ a b Britannica 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Gauvin 1995.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o SVEC 1993.
- ^ Varian, D. 1983, p. 9.
- ^ a b c d Hammond 2002, p. 14.
- ^ Yale 2010.
- ^ Lécuyer 2008, p. 93.
- ^ a b c d Shumway 2000.
- ^ Lécuyer 2008, pp. 93–94.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Edwards 2010.
- ^ a b Hicks 2002, p. 85.
- ^ a b c Hammond 2002, p. 15.
- ^ a b Trompeter 2011.
- ^ Hammond 2002, p. 108.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Petersen 2002, p. 960.
- ^ a b c d Lécuyer 2008, p. 55.
- ^ a b c d e Lécuyer 2008, pp. 95–96.
- ^ a b "Plane crash kills Sigurd F. Varian, co-inventor of Klystron tube" (PDF). The Times, San Mateo. 1961-10-20. p. 1.
- ^ a b c IEEE 2012.
- ^ a b George Caryotakis (1997-11-18). "Invited paper: The Klystron: A microwave source of surprising range and endurance" (PDF). American Physics Society: Division of Plasma Physics Conference, Pittsburgh, PA. Stanford, CA: Stanford SLAC.
- ^ Varian & Varian 1939, p. 321.
- ^ Lécuyer 2008, p. 100.
- ^ U.S. patent 2,561,490
- ^ U.S. patent 3,287,629
- ISBN 9780262019774.
- ^ a b c d e Judge Tannenwald (1966-10-17). "Estate of Varian vs Commissioner, Internal Revenue, 47 T.C. 34 (1966), docket no. 5330-63". United States Tax Court. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- ^ "College honors Menlo resident" (PDF). The Times, San Mateo. 1954-04-06. p. 8.
- ^ EUROMAR 2007.
- ^ EUROMAR 2012.
- ^ "Russell and Sigurd Varian Award". American Vacuum Society. 2012-09-17. Archived from the original on 2013-05-01.
- ^ a b c Lécuyer 2008, pp. 100–101.
- ^ Varian, Inc 2004.
- ^ Lécuyer 2008, pp. 101–103.
- ^ a b c d e Lécuyer 2008, p. 101.
- ^ CPII 2012.
- ^ Agilent 2010.
- ^ a b c Lécuyer 2008, p. 94.
- ^ a b Eshoo 1998, p. 6696.
- ^ Varian, S. 2012a.
- ^ Varian, S. 2012.
- ^ a b c Pam Marino and Maggie Benson (1998-03-25). "Women's Ways". Cupertino Courier. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- ^ Dirk. W. Brown (May–June 1983). "PACER Calendar News for May, June, 1983" (PDF). Post Adoption Center for Education and Research. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- ^ "Guide to the Irish ballads as sung by Russell Varian". Stanford University Libraries Department of Special Collections and Archives. 1943. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- ^ Taylor 1941, p. 17.
- ^ a b "Lorna Van Linghe: Death notice". San Francisco Chronicle. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- ^ a b "Sig Varian's widow dies" (PDF). The Times, San Mateo. 1962-07-12. p. 2.
- ^ "Menlo couple wed in Woodside rites" (PDF). The Times, San Mateo. 1956-01-03. p. 9.
- ^ a b Walker 2008, p. 100.
- ^ Walker 2008, p. 288.
- ^ "California Death Records". State of California. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- ^ "Mexico burial for Varian" (PDF). The Times, San Mateo. 1961-10-24. p. 5.
- ^ "Varian will aids Mexico hospital" (PDF). The Times, San Mateo. 1961-11-25. p. 5.
- ^ Rangeland Trust 2012.
- ^ Silveira 2009.
References
- Edwards, John (2010-11-22). "Russell and Sigurd Varian: Inventing The Klystron And Saving Civilization". Electronic Design. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- Eshoo, Anna G. (1998-04-23). Honoring Varian Associates, Inc. Silicon Valley Engineering Council. ISBN 9780160680205. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- Gauvin, Peter (1995-01-04). "Russell Varian (1899–1959)". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- Hammond, Anne (2002). Ansel Adams: Divine Performance. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09241-7.
- Hicks, Michael (2002). Henry Cowell, Bohemian. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02751-5.
- Lécuyer, Christophe (2008). Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech, 1930–1970. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-12281-8.
- Petersen, Julie K. (2002). The Telecommunications Illustrated Dictionary. New York: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-1173-4.
- Shumway, Eleanor L. (2000-03-03). "The Temple of the People: A History". Temple of the People. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
- Silveira, Mary (April 2009). "Rangeland Trust Assists Ranchers for a Decade" (PDF). Farmer and Rancher. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
- Taylor, Frank J. (1941-02-08). "The Klystron boys: Radio's miracle makers" (PDF). The Saturday Evening Post. Vol. 213, no. 32.
- Trompeter, Jeanette (2011-02-17). "No Place Like Home: Ansel Adams". KSBY News. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- Varian, Dorothy (1983). The Inventor and the Pilot: Russell and Sigurd Varian (1 ed.). Nampa, ID: Pacific Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87015-237-5.
- Varian, R. H.; Varian, S. F. (1939). "A High Frequency Oscillator and Amplifier". .
- Varian, Sheila. "Business Sense (Belongs in the Barn Too)". Varian Arabians. Archived from the original on 2012-05-19. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- Varian, Sheila. "In the Beginning". Varian Arabians. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
- Walker, Richard A. (2008). The Country in the City: The Greening of the San Francisco Bay Area. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-98701-9.
- "1993 Hall of Fame Recipients". Silicon Valley Engineering Council. Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- "Agilent Technologies Completes Acquisition of Varian, Inc., Marking Historic Milestone for Two Silicon Valley Pioneers". Agilent Technologies. 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- "About EUROMAR". EUROMAR. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- "America and the Utopian Dream: Utopian Communities: Halcyon". Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
- "Early history of Varian Associates". Communications & Power Industries I)nc. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- "Klystron". IEEE Global History Network. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- "The Russell Varian Prize". EUROMAR. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- "Russell H. Varian and Sigurd F. Varian". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- "An Early History". Varian, Inc. 2004. Archived from the original on 2010-10-20. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
- "Varian V6 Ranch". California Rangeland Trust. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
Further reading
- Johnson, Steven. "Henry Cowell, John Varian, and Halcyon". American Music (Spring, 1993): 1–27.
External links
- White, Patricia. "Guide to the Papers of Russell and Sigurd Varian, 1836–1988" (PDF). oac.cdlib.org. Online Archive of California, Stanford University Libraries. SC 345. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
- Fisher, Lawrence M. (March 1990). "Head of Varian to Try 'More Balanced Attack'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-06.