Joseph Slepian was an American electrical engineer known for his contributions to the developments of electrical apparatus and theory.
Education
Born in Boston, Master of Arts of Jewish Russian immigrants, he studied mathematics at Harvard University, from which he was awarded a Bachelor of Science (1912) and Doctor of Philosophy on the thesis On the Functions of a Complex Variable Defined by an Ordinary Differential Equation of the First Order and First Degree advised by George Birkhoff (1913). After his Doctor of Philosophy, he became Sheldon fellow at University of Göttingen in Germany, was at University of Sorbonne in Paris, before becoming instructor of mathematics at Cornell University (1915).
Career
a Master of Science Meanwhile he also worked at Boston Elevated Railway. He joined Westinghouse Electric in East Pittsburgh (1916) in the railway motor department initially, moving to the research department (1917) at Forest Hills (Pennsylvania) where he became head (1922), consulting engineer (1926) and associate director (1938–1956) and developed over two hundred patents. Slepian did significant groundwork for the betatron (1927).
He wrote over 120 articles and essays, and published the book Conductivity of electricity in gases (1933).
His career was somewhat shortened by a stroke (1951). He was the father of the mathematician David Slepian.
Membership
National Academy of Sciences.
