Career
In 1932, American scientist, inventor, and optician Don Hendrix began developing the Schmidt Camera at the Mount Wilson Observatory in Southern California, where by 1942 he would go on to become the master optician. He experimented with various technologies and among many firsts was the first person to use aluminum instead of silver in the mirrors he created for the Carnegie Institute"s telescopes. During the time he spent at the Carnegie Institute he worked on many projects for the United States. government, including a co-authored patent for the proximity fuse for use in missiles and bombs, considered to be one of the most important inventions in history outside of the discovery of atomic energy.
Due to the top secret nature of this and other projects, he never openly received cr for these inventions.
During his time at the Mount Wilson and Palomar observatories, he became a protege of Edwin Hubble, and many other noted astronomers, and it is believed that alongside Hubble he contributed to the big bang theory. He was responsible for finishing and polishing the Palomar Observatory"s 200-inch primary and the 120-inch primary at Lick Observatory, among many other contributions.
The crater Hendrix on the Moon is named after him.