Ernst Weber, 1901 - 1996

Ernst Weber, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering, was born in Vienna, Austria, on September 6, 1901. During the period of his secondary education, he supported himself and contributed to the support of his family by teaching French and English.

A dual interest in philosophy and engineering led Dr. Weber to pursue a double course of studies in his native city, attending both the Technical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna. Following receipt of the diploma in electrical engineering, he joined the Austrian Siemens-Schuckert Company as research engineer.

On the basis of studies and publications on field theory as applied to machinery, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science from the Technical University in Vienna in 1927. Concurrent with the work for his engineering degree, he studied philosophy, physics, and mathematics at the University and received the Ph.D. degree in 1926.

Dr. Weber was transferred to the Siemens-Schuckert Company in Berlin in 1929, and appointed Lecturer at the Technical University of Berlin.

In the fall of 1930, he was invited to be Visiting Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. A year later he was named a permanent Research Professor of Electrical Engineering in charge of graduate study. From 1942 to 1945, he was professor of Graduate Electrical Engineering and head of graduate study and research in that field.

Early in World War II, Dr. Weber organized a microwave research group, which developed, among other things, the precision microwave attenuator, sorely needed for the accurate calibration of radar. In recognition of these contributions, he was awarded the Presidential Certificate of Merit. Out of this wartime research grew the Microwave Research Institute, the research arm of the Department of Electrical Engineering and the forerunner of the present Department of Electrophysics. In 1945, Dr. Weber was appointed head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and director of the Microwave Research Institute. Under his direction, enrollment in electrical engineering grew and the graduate program developed into one of the largest in the country.

Creation of a vice presidency for research at the Polytechnic was called for in 1957 by the marked growth of research projects, at that time totaling more than $2,584,000. Dr. Weber was the first person named to that position. Following the death on June 6, 1957, of Dr. Harry S. Rogers, Polytechnic's fifth president, Dr. Weber was appointed acting president. He was appointed President on December 20, 1957.

The creative work of Polytechnic's faculty and staff in the Microwave Research Institute led to the formation of a small, vigorous company responsible for the development and introduction of countless pieces of sophisticated microwave measuring instruments. Founded by Dr. Weber and his associates in 1944, the firm named Polytechnic Research and Development Company, Inc., came to be known as P.R.D. It was sold in 1959 to the Harris-Intertype Corporation and continues as a division of that firm; the proceeds from the sale went to Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and were added to the then small endowment funds of the Polytechnic.

In 1961, three years after Polytechnic's expansion move, Dr. Weber, foreseeing the even greater growth of scientific and engineering firms on Long Island, led in the establishment of Polytechnic's Long Island Graduate Center on a site donated to the Institute by Republic Aviation Corporation on Route 110, Farmingdale. At present, both graduate and undergraduate courses and research are conducted in all fields at the Brooklyn camps; in addition, graduate courses and research needing the special facilities of the Graduate Center are conducted at that site. Total research expenditures by Polytechnic in recent years have been in the range of $4,000,000.

A pioneer in high frequency electronic research, Dr. Weber holds more than 30 American, Canadian, and British patents in the field of microwave techniques. His published works include many scientific papers on electromagnetic fields, linear and nonlinear circuits, and microwave measurements. He has contributed to several books and has published "Mapping of Fields" and "Linear Transient Analysis."

Dr. Weber is a Fellow of IEEE and has served as member of the board, the executive committee, and past president of the Institute of Radio Engineers. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and an honorary member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and the Institute of Radio Engineers of Japan.

In January, 1963, the IRE and the AlEE merged to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. With 160,000 members, the IEEE became the largest scientific or engineering organization in the world. Dr. Weber, a Fellow of both predecessor societies, served as its first President.

Dr. Weber has been a consultant on the Army Scientific Advisory Panel, a member of the Advisory group to the Army Electronics Command, and a member of New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller's Advisory Council for the Advancement of Industrial Research and Development. He served on the Defense Science Board from 1963 through 1966. He also has been a director of the Brooklyn Hospital, the Downtown Brooklyn Association, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and the Brooklyn Philharmonia, Inc.; and a member of various advisory boards and councils and governmental and industrial groups.

He holds honorary doctorates from Newark College of Engineering, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn Law School, Long Island University, and the University of Michigan.

Dr. Weber and his wife, Dr. Sonya Weber, a retired member of the faculty of the School of Medicine at Columbia University, reside in Mt. Vernon, N. Y. He is an ardent mountain climber and color photography enthusiast. After 12 years as President of Polytechnic, Dr. Weber retired on June 30, 1969, and was appointed President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of P.I.B. Later in the same year, he was appointed a member of the Corporation (board of trustees) of Polytechnic. Early in 1970, he accepted an appointment as the Chairman of the Division of Engineering of the National Research Council, effective July 1, 1970. As a result, he is spending much of his time at the offices of NRC in Washington, D.C. (Editor's Note: Dr. Weber passed away on 15 February 1996, Columbus, NC.)

Dr. Weber was awarded the 1971 IEEE Founders Medal "For leadership in the advancement of the electrical and electronics engineering profession in the fields of education, engineering societies, industry and government."

From the IEEE 1971 Annual Banquet Brochure

Click here to read the IEEE History Center's Oral History with Dr. Weber