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Glen P. Robinson, Jr.
Portrait of an older Glen P. Robinson. He is wearing a suit and a tie.
Born (1923-09-10) September 10, 1923 (age 100)[1][2]
Crescent City, Florida
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materGeorgia Institute of Technology (1948, 1950)
Known forCo-founding Scientific Atlanta
AwardsGeorgia's Small Businessman of the Year (1965), Georgia Business and Industry Association's Entrepreneur of the Year (1981), Georgia Technology Hall of Fame (1993), IEEE Fellow
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsGeorgia Tech Research Institute, Scientific Atlanta, AirExcel, LaserCraft, and C2 Biofuels

Glen Parmelee Robinson, Jr. (born September 10, 1923), called the "father of high-tech industry in Georgia",[3] is a founder of Scientific Atlanta, now a subsidiary of Cisco Systems.[4][5] Robinson was CEO of the company for 20 years, and chairman of the board for an additional eight years, until he retired from Scientific Atlanta in 1979.

Initially a ham radio enthusiast and subsequently a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) with both bachelor's and master's degrees in physics, Robinson worked at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory before founding Scientific Atlanta. Later in life, he founded and invested in numerous Atlanta-based science-related companies. Robinson is an IEEE Fellow and holds at least 39 patents in fields including solar energy devices and antenna systems.[6][7]

For his contributions, he was named Georgia's Small Businessman of the Year in 1965, the Georgia Business and Industry Association's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1981, and was elected to the Georgia Technology Hall of Fame in 1993.[8] In 2003, Georgia Tech awarded him an honorary Ph.D. in Physics, and in 2007, half of Georgia Tech's Molecular Science and Engineering Building was named the Glen P. Robinson, Jr. Tower in his honor.

Early life and education

Robinson was born in 1923 in Crescent City, Florida, an outskirt of Jacksonville, to Glen Parmelee and Maura Mae (Lewis) Robinson.[2][5] His family moved to Valdosta, Georgia, in 1937, and some time after, Robinson opened a small machine shop. He sold industrial products and metal tools to local industry.[5] In 1942, with the encouragement of his father, Robinson enrolled as a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology to study chemical engineering. However, his education was interrupted by his enlistment into the Naval Signal Corps and service in the Pacific Theatre of World War II where he installed telephones on recaptured American possessions during the war.[5][9]

Robinson returned from the conflict as a junior and in 1948 he changed his major to physics, as the School of Physics started its degree program that year.[9] He received a Bachelor of Science in Physics in 1948, and a Master of Science in Physics (also from Georgia Tech) in 1950.[6][9][10] Robinson was also a member of Georgia Tech's prestigious secret society, ANAK.[11][12] Robinson had been a ham radio operator enthusiast since the age of 14, and started a radio repair service to provide additional income while he was a student at Georgia Tech.[9]

One of Robinson's professors, James E. Boyd, convinced him to give up the radio repair business and work as a research assistant at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (then known as the Engineering Experiment Station, or EES).[9] One of his ham radio friends was actually his boss's boss and EES director, Gerald Rosselot.[9] Working after hours at EES, Robinson built a television set in the lab, which he and others claim was the first to be built in the state of Georgia.[5][9][13] In 1950, Robinson went to Tennessee to work in nuclear engineering for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, servicing radiology-related equipment at local hospitals.[5][14][15]

Scientific Atlanta

Robinson and six other Georgia Tech researchers (including Robinson's former professor James E. Boyd and EES director Gerald Rosselot) each contributed $100 (for a total of $700, worth $Expression error: Unexpected < operator today)[[[Category:Pages with errors in inflation template]] 1] and founded Scientific Associates on October 31, 1951, with the initial goal of marketing antenna structures being developed by the radar branch of the EES.[9][16][17] Robinson worked as the unpaid general manager for the first year.[14] The relations between Scientific Atlanta and the EES were initially strained due to an unrelated dispute over station finances between EES director Gerald Rosselot and Georgia Tech vice president Cherry Emerson that coincided with Scientific Atlanta's foundation. Specifically, Emerson believed that surplus funds realized through research contracts should be returned to Georgia Tech, while the Georgia Tech Research Corporation and Rosselot felt they should be retained to foster additional research.[9][18]

A strict conflict of interest policy was enacted, and researchers were forced to choose between the two entities; the initial investors had all kept their faculty jobs, and most returned to them.[18] After the fledgling company's first contract resulted in a $4,000 loss ($Expression error: Unexpected < operator today),[[[Category:Pages with errors in inflation template]] 1] Robinson bought out all but one of the original investors and paid them each back their original $100.[16] Consequently, Robinson left EES and became president and CEO of the new company, which would eventually be renamed to Scientific Atlanta.[5] Boyd stayed on as a member of the board of directors; Robinson's friend Larry Clayton, previously involved in Robinson's radio business and now having graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in physics, became the head of the new company's research and development.[9] Years later, the school would promote Scientific Atlanta's origins at Georgia Tech, and Scientific Atlanta has been a longtime financial contributor to Georgia Tech.[18]

Scientific Atlanta helped NASA establish ground stations for communication with astronauts during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects.[5] When John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 on Mercury-Atlas 6, his voice was transmitted and received by radio antennas designed with equipment built by Scientific Atlanta.[14] In the 1970s, Robinson recognized the potential combination of communications satellites and cable television. Ted Turner purchased one of Scientific Atlanta's first satellite systems, which formed the basis of Turner's "Super Station" that was broadcast around the country to other cable providers.[5] In 1975, HBO and TelePrompTer used Scientific Atlanta equipment to transmit the first live satellite-delivered cable event, the "Thrilla in Manila" heavyweight boxing championship bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.[5]

Robinson remained CEO of Scientific Atlanta for 20 years, and chairman of the board for an additional eight years, until he retired from the company in 1979.[6][10][13][19] Scientific Atlanta grew dramatically; it earned $3.1 million in revenue in 1962 ($Error when using {{Inflation}}: |index=US-NGDPPC (parameter 1) not a recognized index. million today),[[[Category:Pages with errors in inflation template]] 1] approximately $200 million when Robinson left in 1979 ($Error when using {{Inflation}}: |index=US-NGDPPC (parameter 1) not a recognized index. million today),[[[Category:Pages with errors in inflation template]] 1] and $1.9 billion in revenue in 2005 ($Error when using {{Inflation}}: |index=US-NGDPPC (parameter 1) not a recognized index. billion today).[13][16] Scientific Atlanta also served as a regional business incubator, with hundreds of companies tracing their roots back to it.[5]

Later career

Robinson founded E-Tech in 1978, which developed heat pump technology.[20] Eight years later, in 1986, E-Tech merged with the Marvair Company to become Crispaire, which specialized in cooling equipment for telecommunications systems.[13][21] Crispaire would later merge with other companies, and is now known as AirExcel.[3][10] Robinson retired from Crispaire in 1997.[13]

In 1994, Robinson helped start LaserCraft, which focused on applications of LIDAR such as radar guns and traffic enforcement cameras, and in 2007 was the world's largest manufacturer of laser products for law enforcement.[3][22][23] LaserCraft was acquired by Public Safety Equipment in June 2006, which was in turn acquired by Stirling Square Capital Partners and Diamond Castle Holdings in February 2007.[24][25][26]

Robinson has been an angel investor, particularly in the fields of digital communications and biotechnology. In 1999, He funded OmniMetrix and Mission Communications, two companies focused on AMPS cellular digital control channel and Internet communications.[27] In 2000, he invested $1.5 million ($Error when using {{Inflation}}: |index=US-NGDPPC (parameter 1) not a recognized index. million today) in Genomic Solutions Inc.[[[Category:Pages with errors in inflation template]] 1][28] Most recently, Robinson is an investor in and co-founder of the 2007 VentureLab startup, C2 Biofuels, which aims to build several $100 million cellulosic ethanol plants throughout the United States.[6][29][30][31]

Legacy

Robinson has held positions on numerous boards, including: Chairman of the Georgia Science and Technology Commission; Chairman of the Georgia Tech Research Corporation; Trustee of The Georgia Tech Foundation and Member of the Board of Visitors of Emory University; the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; and the Georgia Business and Industry Association.[6][32]

Robinson was selected as Georgia's Small Businessman of the Year in 1965, the Georgia Business and Industry Association's (now the Georgia Chamber of Commerce) Entrepreneur of the Year in 1981, and was elected to the Georgia Technology Hall of Fame in 1993.[6][7][8][15] Since 1995, Scientific Atlanta has sponsored scholarships in Robinson's name for children of its employees.[4] In March 1998, Robinson donated to create two endowed chairs: the Glen P. Robinson Chair in Non-Linear Science (in the School of Physics) and the $1.5 million Glen P. Robinson Chair in Electro-Optics (in GTRI).[5][33][34][35]

In 2003, Georgia Tech awarded him an honorary Ph.D. in physics,[6][13] and in 2006 he was awarded the Joseph Mayo Pettit Alumni Distinguished Service Award.[10][36] In 2007, half of Georgia Tech's Molecular Science and Engineering Building was named the Glen P. Robinson, Jr. Tower in his honor, due in part to his $5 million donation towards its construction.[37][38][39] As of 2006, he and his wife, Jan, had five children and 12 grandchildren and lived in Atlanta.[10]

References

  1. ^ Past to present: a century of honors: the first hundred years of award winners, honorary members, past presidents, and fellows of the Institute. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. 1984. p. 363. ISBN 0879421770.
  2. ^ a b Who's who in commerce and industry. Vol. 14. Marquis Who's Who. 1965. p. 1110.
  3. ^ a b c Clough, G. Wayne (2007-04-19). "Remarks by Georgia Tech President G. Wayne Clough: Molecular Science and Engineering Building Dedication" (PDF). Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  4. ^ a b "Scientific-Atlanta Celebrates First Founders Day; Establishes Glen P. Robinson, Jr. Scholarship In Honor of Company's First President" (Subscription required) (Press release). Scientific Atlanta via PR Newswire, archived by HighBeam Research. 1995-11-10. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Glen P. Robinson Jr". Georgia Tech Research Institute. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Founders". C2 Biofuels. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  7. ^ a b "Lidar Research at EOSL". Georgia Tech Research Institute. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  8. ^ a b Goettling, George (winter 1994). "Technotes". Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Retrieved 2010-01-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Gerald A. Rosselot" (PDF). Georgia Institute of Technology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  10. ^ a b c d e "2006 Award Recipients". Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Archived from the original on 2007-10-26. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  11. ^ "ANAK Graduates: 1940–1949". ANAK Society. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  12. ^ "Glen Robinson". Georgia Tech Living History. Georgia Tech Library. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Two Hundredth And Fifteenth Commencement Exercise" (PDF). Georgia Institute of Technology. 2003-05-03. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  14. ^ a b c Combes, Richard (1996-01-21). "Radar Research Spawns a New Firm: The Case of Scientific Atlanta" (PDF). Academic. Stanford University. pp. 1–2, 16. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  15. ^ a b Meek, Gary (summer 2006). "Four entrepreneurial alumni receive Distinguished Service Award". Tech Topics. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. pp. 9–10. Retrieved 2010-01-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ a b c "U.S. Business: One Way to Do It". Time. 1963-04-26. Archived from the original on 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  17. ^ "Researchers form Scientific-Atlanta". Georgia Tech Research Institute. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  18. ^ a b c McMath, Robert C. (1985). Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech 1885–1985. University of Georgia Press. pp. 262–263. ISBN 0-8203-0784-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Coffee, Hoyt (fall 1995). "High Tech: A new age dawns in the New South". Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Retrieved 2010-01-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Dunn, John (summer 1990). "Dream Makers: Saving Energy and Money". Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Retrieved 2011-08-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Robinson, Glen P (summer 1991). "The Darkness at the End of the Tunnel". Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Retrieved 2011-08-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Mahoney, Ryan (2006-09-29). "Cash machines". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  23. ^ "Smile! You're on LaserCraft Camera!". Gwinnett Magazine. March 2005. Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  24. ^ "Public Safety Equipment Acquires LaserCraft" (Press release). Public Safety Equipment via PoliceOne.com. 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  25. ^ "Stirling Square Capital Partners and Affiliates of Diamond Castle Holdings, LLC Acquire Public Safety Equipment" (Press release). Diamond Castle Holdings. 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
  26. ^ "Eye in the Sky: Designing the Next Generation of LIDAR-Based Ozone-Monitoring Technology". Georgia Tech Research Institute. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  27. ^ "Partnership Agreement Funding MISSION Signed" (Press release). MISSION Communications. winter 1999. Retrieved 2010-04-20. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Bryant, Julie (2001-06-18). "'Biochip'-maker scores funding". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  29. ^ Vogel, Abby (summer 2007). "Companies and Georgia Research Alliance Support Biofuel Research at Georgia Tech". Research Horizons. Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2010-01-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "Alternative Fuel Technology Company Locates in Georgia". Georgia Centers of Innovation. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  31. ^ "Tifton lab helps company plan Georgia ethanol plant". Tifton Gazette. 2006-05-12. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  32. ^ "Board of Trustees". Georgia Tech Foundation. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
  33. ^ "Administration and Faculty: Chairs and Professorships". Georgia Tech Fact Book. Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  34. ^ "Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia" (PDF). University System of Georgia. 1998-03-11. p. 21. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  35. ^ "GTRI Builds on Industry Relationships". Georgia Tech Research Institute. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  36. ^ "The J.M. Pettit Distinguished Service Award". ANAK Society. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  37. ^ Treadaway, Dan (2005-08-22). "Robinson's lead commitment propels M Building project" (PDF). The Whistle. Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  38. ^ "Actions List" (PDF). Georgia Board of Regents. 2007-04-18. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  39. ^ "M Building dedication marks advancement of research agenda" (PDF). The Whistle. Georgia Institute of Technology. 2007-04-23. Retrieved 2010-01-20.

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