Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 16
Ma
a:::,., ~~'
I'::. T ? ~ T:~2
~ ~~"~'~.~ ~ ~~''~.~
We'd
OCR for page 17
ARTHUR MAYNARD BUECHE
1920-1981
BY ROLAND W. SC HMITT
ARTHUR M BUECHE Senior Vice-President for Corporate Tech-
nology, General Electric Company, died at Bridgeport, Connecticut,
on October 22, 1981. Dr. Bueche was widely known as a statesman
and advocate for science and technology; as an adviser to the U.S.
Government, to academic institutions, and to international bodies;
and as an innovator in applying research results to the needs of
society.
Born in Flushing, Michigan, on November 14, 1920, Dr. Bueche
attended Flint Junior College, received his Bachelor of Science
degree in chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1943,
attended Ohio State University, and was awarded his Ph.D. in phys-
ical chemistry from Cornell University in 1947. At Cornell he was a
protege of Nobelist Peter Debye, with whom he was closely associ-
ated in furthering the Nation's synthetic rubber program.
After serving as a research associate at Cornell for three years, Dr.
Bueche joined the staff of the General Electric Research Laboratory,
Schenectady, New York, in 1950. He studied the effects of electron
beam radiation and fillers on the strength and elasticity of silicone
elastomers. His research into effects of radiation on polymers led to
cross-linked polyethylene, and he also made important contributions
to the understanding of fracture and crazing in polymers. During
this period he was a prolific producer of patents and technical
papers.
His move into management began in 1953 with appointment as
17
OCR for page 18
18
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
Manager of Polymer Research, and by 1961 he had been named
Head of the Research Laboratory's chemistry department.
General Electric named Dr. Bucche a Vice-President in 1965 and
simultaneously gave him the task of integrating the Corporate
Research Laboratory and the Corporate General Engineering Labo-
ratory into a cohesive Research and Development Center. From
1965 to 1978, under his leadership, this combined entity achieved a
high degree of success, with the staff growing to more than 2,000,
including 800 scientists and engineers.
Dr. Bueche's leadership of this operation was recognized as an
outstanding example of managerial skill. He was innovative in the
development of strategic and operational planning of technical work,
in devising new methods of technical liaison and technical informa-
tion exchange, in promoting and recognizing technical excellence,
and in the transition of R&D results into beneficial industrial and
. . .
Justness activity.
The achievements of the laboratories under his direction were
many and noteworthy, which attest to the effectiveness of his leader-
ship. In electronics, they include the development of significant
advances in computed X-ray tomography; a solid-state imager
based on charge-injection device technology; thermomigration, a
process that reduces the time required to process semiconductors;
the surface-charge correlator, a new semiconductor device for analog
signal processing; and several new and improved solid-state power
devices. Achievements in materials included the fabrication and
commercialization of cubic boron nitride, a man-made material sec-
ond in hardness only to diamonds, and polycrystalline diamonds for
metal cutting; the laboratory creation of the first synthesized gem
diamonds; the first simple and inexpensive technique for fabricating
ceramic parts of silicon carbide; invention of a silicon/silicon carbide
composite; and a wide variety of high-performance polymers that
served as the basis for General Electric's achievement of a major
commercial position in the field of engineering plastics. Meanwhile,
in the field of energy, among the many achievements were advances
in the development of more efficient turbines, sodium-sulfur batter-
ies, coal-gasification technology, significantly improved motor and
control technology, and the production of energy-eff~cient lamps.
OCR for page 19
ARTHUR MAYNARD BUECHE
19
The success of virtually all of these laboratory achievements subse-
quently has been marked in the marketplace.
Dr. Bueche was an active participant in scientific and industrial
professional organizations, government advisory groups, and educa-
tional institutions. He was a leader in defining and promoting the
roles of science and technology in government, education, industry
and as important contributors to the welfare and security of people.
As a particularly active member of the National Academy of
Engineering, he served on the Executive Committee of the Council.
He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and its
Academy Forum Advisory Committee. In government he served on
advisory groups to the President's Office on matters related to sci-
ence and technology and also on a wide variety of science and
technology committees. At various times he was a consultant to the
National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, the U.S. Air Force, the National Bureau of Stan-
dards, and the Energy Research and Development Administration.
He was Cochairman of President Reagan's Science and Technology
Task Force in 1980 and headed the Science and Technology Policy
team in the transition period before the inauguration.
In education he served on the Board of Trustees of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, Albany Medical College, and the Hudson-
Mohawk Valley Association of Colleges and Universities. He had
been a member of Visiting Committees at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and at Harvard, Connecticut, and Duke universities,
and was a member of the Board of Overseers of the School of
Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania.
He was particularly active at his alma mater, Cornell, where he
served the university and its engineering school in a broad range of
activities, including chairmanship of the College of Engineering
Council. His public service also included membership on the boards
of Ellis Hospital, Sunnyview Hospital and Rehabilitation Center,
and the Schenectady Savings Bank, all in Schenectady, New York.
His honors were many. They include the Industrial Research
Institute Research Medal for Leadership, the American Society of
Metals Medal for the Advancement of Research, the Fahrney
Medal of the Franklin Institute, the Gold Medal Award of the Amer-
OCR for page 20
20
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
ican Institute of Chemists, the Centennial Medal of the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers, eight honorary degrees, and elec-
tion as a Fellow in both the American Physical Society and the
American Association for the Advancement of Science.
In the words of a resolution passed by the U.S. Senate following
his death, "Dr. Bueche displayed exemplary personal qualities, lead-
ership skills, devotion to public service, and a rare combination of
knowledge and abilities. "
OCR for page 21
Representative terms from entire chapter:
tributes ican
