Jerome Wiesner

Jerome Wiesner
13thPresident of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
In office 1971–1980
Preceded by	Howard Johnson
Succeeded by	Paul Gray
Director of theOffice of Science and Technology
In office January 20, 1961 – January 24, 1964
President	John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	George Kistiakowsky
Succeeded by	Donald Hornig
Personal details
Born	Jerome Bert Wiesner (1915-05-30)May 30, 1915 Detroit,Michigan,U.S.
Died	October 21, 1994(1994-10-21)(aged 79) Watertown, Massachusetts,U.S.
Spouse	Laya Wainger
Education	University of Michigan(BS,MS,PhD)
Awards	IEEE Founders Medal(1977) Vannevar Bush Award(1992)
Scientific career
Fields	Electrical engineering
Institutions	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Los Alamos Laboratory
Thesis	Pre-ignition phenomena in gas switching tubes and related rectifier burnout problems(1950)

Jerome Bert Wiesner(May 30, 1915 – October 21, 1994) was a professor ofelectrical engineering,chosen by PresidentJohn F. Kennedyas chairman of hisScience Advisory Committee(PSAC). Educated at theUniversity of Michigan,Wiesner was associate director of the university's radio broadcasting service and provided electronic and acoustical assistance to theNational Music CampatInterlochen, Michigan.DuringWorld War II,he worked onmicrowave radardevelopment at theMIT Radiation Laboratory.He worked briefly after the war at theLos Alamos National Laboratory,then returned to MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics from 1946 to 1961. After serving as Kennedy's science advisor, he returned to MIT, becoming itspresidentfrom 1971 to 1980.

He was an outspoken critic of crewed exploration ofouter space,believing instead in automated space probes. He challengedNASA's choice of developing theApollo Lunar Moduleas a means to achieving Kennedy's goal of landing men on the Moon. At Kennedy's direction, he investigatedRachel Carson's criticism of the use of the pesticideDDT,and issued a report in support of her claims. He was an advocate forarms control,and a critic ofanti-ballistic missiledefense systems. While MIT president, he was put on PresidentRichard M. Nixon'sextended "enemies list".

Early life and education

Wiesner was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Jewish immigrants fromSilesiaand raised in Dearborn. He attended Fordson High School.

He received aBachelor of Science(BS) degree inelectrical engineeringand mathematics in 1937, and aMaster of Science(MS) degree in 1938, at theUniversity of Michigan.He received aDoctor of Philosophy(PhD) in electrical engineering from UM in 1950.Interested in radio broadcasting and acoustics, he was associate director of UM's radio broadcasting service. He also participated in studies of acoustics, and assisted in developing electronic techniques, at theNational Music CampatInterlochen, Michigan.

In 1940, Wiesner married Laya Wainger, a fellow mathematics major he met at UM. The same year, he was appointed chief engineer for the Acoustical and Record Laboratory of theLibrary of Congress,in which capacity he traveled the American South and Southwest under aCarnegie Corporationgrant with folkloristAlan Lomax,recording the folk music of these regions.In this role, he became friends with folk singerPete Seeger,who performed at the concert for Wiesner's inauguration as President of MIT in 1971.

Career

Wiesner began his professional career at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology,joining theMIT Radiation Laboratoryin 1942 and working onmicrowave radardevelopment. He became an associate member of the laboratory's steering committee, and led "Project Cadillac", which developed the forerunner of theAWACsystem.

At the end ofWorld War II,he worked briefly at theLos Alamos National Laboratory,then returned to MIT as a professor of electrical engineering, and worked from 1946 to 1961 at the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT (RLE), ultimately becoming the director.Between this time, he is known to have attended theMacy Conferencesin 1952, and to have provided feedback alongsideWalter Pittsduring a presentation onhomeostaticsystems byRoss Ashby.

Kennedy administration

PresidentJohn F. Kennedynamed Wiesner to chair thePresident's Science Advisory Committee(PSAC) in February, 1961.

Space program

Before Kennedy took office, Wiesner chaired a task force which issued a report to the President-elect on January 10, 1961, warning of "inadequate planning and direction" and "the lack of outstanding scientists and engineers" in its space efforts, and expressing his opposition to crewed space flight,saying thatProject Mercury"exaggerated the value of that aspect of space activity where we are less likely to achieve success. We should stop advertising Mercury as our major objective in space activities."

The Wiesner Report, as it was called, outlined to Kennedy Wiesner's advice to not continue with the crewed space program, Project Mercury. The President's Science Advisory Committee highlighted the skepticism of the scientific elite about sending humans into space. Wiesner was not concerned with the political aspects that others in Kennedy's administration were. Wiesner believed that the space program would continue making scientific advancements even without man. Also, he highlighted the disaster that would come out of a failure to place a man into orbit or causing the death of an astronaut, saying it "would create a situation of serious national embarrassment". These two points were among the many reasons Wiesner did not want to send man into space.

WhenNASAdecided in June 1962 onLunar Orbit Rendezvousas the strategy for itsApollo programto meet Kennedy's goal of landing men on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, Wiesner had created a Space Vehicle Panel, chaired by Nicolas Golovin, to monitor and second-guess NASA.The SVP forced NASA to defend its decision to develop theSaturn Vlaunch vehicle and aLunar Excursion Module,delaying its announcement news conference to July 11, and causing NASA AdministratorJames E. Webbto hedge by calling the decision tentative, keeping the Earth-orbit rendezvous and direct-ascent methods as possible backups, but still maintaining, "We find that by adding one vehicle to those already under development, namely, the lunar excursion vehicle, we have an excellent opportunity to accomplish this mission with a shorter time span, with a saving of money, and with equal safety to any other modes."

But Golovin and Wiesner kept up the pressure, Wiesner at one point making the disagreement public during a two-day September visit by the President toMarshall Space Flight Center.Wiesner blurted out "No, that's no good," in front of the press, during a presentation by Marshall DirectorWernher von Braun.Webb jumped in and defended von Braun, until Kennedy ended the squabble by stating that the matter was "still subject to final review." Webb held firm, as NASA issued arequest for proposalto candidate LEM contractors. Wiesner finally relented, unwilling to settle the dispute once and for all in Kennedy's office, because of the President's involvement with the OctoberCuban Missile Crisis,and fear of Kennedy's support for Webb. NASA announced the selection ofGrummanas the LEM contractor in November 1962.

Pesticide usage

In the wake of controversy surrounding the 1962 publication ofRachel Carson'sSilent Spring,which questioned the indiscriminate use of the pesticideDDT,Kennedy directed the PSAC to conduct an investigation into Carson's claims. Wiesner held hearings, and on May 15, 1963, published a report titled "The Use of Pesticides",which recommended a phaseout of "persistent toxic pesticides."

Nuclear arms limitation

Wiesner's obituary described him as "a key figure in the Kennedy administration in the establishment of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, in achieving the October 1963Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty,and in the successful effort to restrict the deployment of antiballistic missile systems.”

Return to MIT

Shortly before his assassination in November 1963, Kennedy decided to replace Wiesner as PSAC chair withDonald HornigofPrinceton University.As Kennedy's successor,Lyndon B. Johnsonhonored the appointment in 1964.After leaving the White House, Wiesner returned to MIT as Dean of the School of Science, became Provost in 1966, and served as President from 1971 to 1980.^[1]He was also elected a life member of the MIT Corporation.

During theWatergate scandal,it was disclosed in June 1973 thatCharles W. Colson,counsel toPresident Nixon,had prepared a short list of 20 people deemed "hostile to the administration" on September 9, 1971.^[2]What became popularly known as "Nixon's enemies list"was discovered to have been expanded to include Wiesner, among twenty other academics. According to an issue ofSciencereprinted in theBoston GlobeandWashington Post,a White House memo discussed a Nixon order to "cut back on MIT's subsidy in view of Wiesner's anti-defense bias".^[3]

Portrayal

Wiesner was portrayed byAl Frankenin the 1998HBOminiseriesFrom the Earth to the Moon.

Awards and honors

Wiesner was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciencesin 1953 and theAmerican Philosophical Societyin 1969.He was awarded theDelmer S. Fahrney Awardin 1980. In 1993 Wiesner was awarded thePublic Welfare Medalfrom theNational Academy of Sciences,of which he was a member.

Personal life

Wiesner died at his home inWatertown, Massachusettsof heart failure at age 79.His son,Stephen Wiesner,made fundamental discoveries inquantum informationtheory.

Bibliography (selection)

Articles

• Morrison, Philip;Kosta Tsipis; Jerome Wiesner (February 1994). "The Future of American Defense".Scientific American.270(2): 20–27.Bibcode:1994SciAm.270a..20P.doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0194-20.

Notes

1. ^Obituary,MIT News Office
2. ^"Lists of White House 'Enemies' and Memorandums Relating to Those Named",The New York Times,June 28, 1973, p. 38.
3. ^"Enemies list",The Tech(MIT's student newspaper), September 7, 1973, p. 4.
4. A Random Walk through the Twentieth Century,online hyper-biography of Wiesner from 1995