John Wistar Simpson

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John Wistar Simpson

Notable awards IEEE Edison Medal

John Wistar Simpson (25 September 1914January 4, 2007) was an electrical engineer, who made significant contributions to the development of the nuclear energy. [1]

He was born in 1914 in Glenn Springs, South Carolina. [1]

He joined Westinghouse in 1937 and, earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1941.

He worked in 1946 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where they applied nuclear energy to the generation of power. When he returned to Westinghouse he became responsible for research and development of nuclear energy generation. He was deeply involved in the design and construction of the first submarine atomic power plant.

He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in April, 1966. He was awarded the IEEE Edison Medal in 1971 "For sustained contributions to society through the development and engineering design of nuclear power systems." He also was a Fellow of the IEEE, and a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineering and the Atomic Industrial Forum.

He was the author of several nonfiction books including "Nuclear Power from Underseas to Outer Space".[2]

He died on January 4, 2007 in Hilton Head. [1]


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "John W. Simpson, 92, Dies. Pioneer of Nuclear Power.", New York Times, January 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. "John W. Simpson, a former top executive and engineer for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation who played a major role in developing the nation's first commercial nuclear power plant and its first nuclear-powered submarine, the U.S.S. Nautilus, died Jan. 4 near his home on Hilton Head Island, S.C. He was 92. He died at a hospital of complications of pneumonia, his son Carter said. ... In addition to Carter, of Great Falls, Va., Mr. Simpson is survived by another son, John Jr., of Bridgeville, Pa.; two daughters, Patricia Deely of Indianapolis and Barbara Wilkinson of Truckee, Calif.; and seven grandchildren. His wife of 56 years, the former Esther Slattery, died in 2004." 
  2. ^ Stacy, Susan (2000). [Proving the Principle Acknowledgement Proving the Principle]. Idaho Operations Office of the Department of Energy Idaho Falls, Idaho: Prepared under contract by Jason Associates Corporation for the U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office., 326. ISBN 0-16-059185-6.  "The author is grateful to John W. Simpson and to the American Nuclear Society for permission to reprint excerpts from Nuclear Power from Undersea to Outer Space by John W. Simpson, copyright 1995 by the American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, Illinois."