Elise Harmon

Elise (aka E'Lise) Frances Harmon (3 September 1909 – 6 March 1985 in Santa Clara County, California)[1] was an American chemist and biologist by education and engineer by practice who invented several technologies in the emerging printed circuit board industry in the 1950s that allowed efficient printing of circuit elements on plastic substrate and continued making significant engineering innovations in circuit miniaturization into the 1970s.  She also conducted critical research on the performance of electrical equipment in aircraft under extreme conditions that enhanced aircraft performance in World War II.[2]

Elise F. Harmon
Born
Elise Frances Harmon

(1909-09-03)September 3, 1909
Mount Enterprise, Texas
DiedMarch 6, 1985(1985-03-06) (aged 75)
Redwood City, California
Resting placeIOOF Cemetery, Denton, Texas
Alma materUniversity of North Texas
University of Texas at Austin
Known forcreating processes for manufacturing some of the first printed circuits on plastic substrates; research of materials in extreme environments that improved performance of electrical components of WW II aircraft;
Awards1956 Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award; 1968 IPC President's Award
Scientific career
Fieldsprinted circuit manufacturing, materials research and engineering

Early life and education

Harmon graduated from Marshall High School in Marshall, Texas in 1927.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1931 from North Texas State College (now University of North Texas)[3] in Denton TX, a Master of Science in biology from the University of Texas in 1938, and took advanced coursework at several institutions. Harmon did post-graduate work at several institutions. Subjects she pursued included engineering at George Washington University, and polymer chemistry, mathematics, and mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park.[4]

In June 1930, while a student, she was elected president of the W.N. Masters Chemical Society,[5] a student organization she joined as a freshman in 1927, sponsored by Wallace Newton Masters (1864–1943), founder of the chemistry department in 1910.[6]

Career highlights

Research and Development

From 1942–51, Harmon worked first in the United States Naval Research Laboratory's Aircraft and Electrical Division, then in the Heat and Power and Ordnance Divisions at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. During World War II at the Naval Research Laboratory and later in the Heat and Power Division, she worked on engineering problems such as temperature range in aircraft electrical equipment, high altitude carbon brush performance in aircraft motors and generators and the action of lubricants in high-speed bearings.  Her work allowed aircraft motors and generators to operate safely at higher altitudes.   In the Ordnance Division she performed engineering research on proximity fuses and guided missiles.  She also designed, placed into operation, and tested equipment for the industrial production of printed circuits for military applications.

In 1952, she moved to the Aerovox Corporation, headquartered at Plant 2 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In the 1970's, as head of Aerovox Corporations's printed circuit activities, she directed the research, development and pilot plan procedures for an entirely new method of printed circuitry and printed circuit components. [7][8] One of Harmon's major contributions to the field was the development of a hot die stamp method to create printed circuits in which silver conductors were infused on thermoplastics and thermosetting materials.[9][10] She and Philip J. Franklin (né Philip Jacquins Franklin; 1909–1979) were awarded a patent in 1953 for this technological breakthrough. Harmon also researched the action of grease and lubricants in high speed ball bearings.[11]

From 1957 to 1962, Harmon worked for the American Bosch Arma Corporation in Garden City, New York.  As senior engineer, she developed microminiaturization research and development programs related to advanced computers.  She liaised with the Manufacturing Department on Arma’s Inertial Guidance System for the Atlas ICBM and focused on microminiaturization in extraterrestrial vehicles and telemetry.

From 1962–1970, she was a senior engineer for Autonetics, a division of Rockwell International Corporation in Anaheim, California, where she was responsible for advanced technology for the fabrication of multilayer circuit boards for the Minuteman program.  This included developing and testing a specific micro-miniature circuit fabrication and packaging technology.

Consulting

She started Harmon Technical Consultants in 1970 and provided her expertise to numerous national and international corporations in the areas of printed circuits and multilayer board production problems.  Her clients included commercial printed circuit board producers such as Magnavox, aerospace companies Raytheon and Honeywell, and international clients such as Nippon Aviatronics.

Teaching

Harmon taught chemistry, physics, and biology at the Brownsville Junior High School from about 1934 to 1937. She later taught those subjects at Texas Junior College, the University of North Texas, and University of Texas at Austin.

Memberships and affiliations

Awards and honors

Harmon was awarded the 1956 Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award for her specialty in printed circuits.[13] Harmon was awarded the 1968 IPC President's Award, honoring those who made the most significant contributions to IPC programs during the term of office of each departing IPC president[14]

Harmon has been listed in the Marquis Who's Who of American Women,[15] American Women in Technology encyclopedia,[16] Gale Group Notable Scientists,[17] Gale Research Notable Twentieth Century Scientists,[18] Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science,[19] International Handbook of Aerospace Awards and Trophies,[20] the Women's Book of World Records and Achievements,[21] Chronology of Women's History,[22] Women Scientists in America.[23]

Selected published works
  • "Interconnection of Integrated Circuit Flat Packs in Autonetics Improved Minuteman Program," by Elise F. Harmon, IEEE Transactions on Component Parts (journal), Vol. 11, No. 2 (1964), pps. 135–144; ISSN 0097-6601, OCLC 4653138666
  • "Fabrication of Multilayer Boards at Autonetics for Minuteman II Program," by Elise F. Harmon, Anaheim, California: North American Aviation / Autonetics (1965); OCLC 258395160
  • Presented at the Multilayer Seminar, sponsored by Milton S. Kiver Publications, Inc. (Milton Sol Kiver; 1918–2005), and Electronic Packaging and Production (magazine), New York, New York, March 22–25, 1965
  • "Method of Making a Photosensitive Solder Maskant," United States Department of the Air Force, Fort Belvoir Defense Technical Information Center, December 21, 1973; OCLC 227239303, 831431571
  • "Sliding Contacts at High Altitudes, Experimental System for Carbon Brush Investigations," PB129176 (U.S. Publications Board Number), by E.F. Harmon, E-3176 (NRL Formal Report Number), September 1947 (date of report). Bibliography of Unclassified NRL Formal Reports Numbers 1000 to 5700, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, July 1962, pg. 52; OCLC 15697667, 831978265, 227304660

Selected patents

She held numerous patents including:

1953 US 2656570 A: "Plastic Matrix for Printing Resistors" (hot die stamp method of infusing silver conductors on polymerized materials)[lower-alpha 1]
1953 US 2844172 A: "Silk Screen Stretcher" (mechanism for stretching fabric to obtain uniform tautness)[lower-alpha 2]
Injection printing machine for film resistors
Improved high altitude carbon brush performance, enabling American airplanes to maintain superiority during WWII

Death

Harmon died March 6, 1985, in Santa Clara County, California, while a resident of Redwood City, California. She is buried in Section P, Block 35, Grave 1 of the IOOF Cemetery, Denton, Texas, next to her mother, Geoffie Harmon (1887–1931), in Grave 2, and brother, Hamlett Stephen Harmon (1913–1997), in Grave 3. The three grave sites were purchased in 1931 by her father, George Herbert Harmon (1881–1957).

Family

Harmon had a brother and a sister. Her brother Ham Harmon, played professional football with the Chicago Cardinals in 1937 for one season.[24][25] Her sister Ann Ferrari, participated in the Salk Polio Vaccine field trail, and served as Instructor of Physical Therapy at Stanford.[26]

Further resources

References

Patents Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office:

  1. Gazette, Vol. 675, October 1953, pg. 922      Elise F. Harmon & Philip J. Franklin,         Assignors to the U.S.A. as represented by the Secretary of the Army      "Plastic matrix for printing resistors"
         US 2656570 A, filed November 15, 1951, serial no. 256,584, granted October 27, 1953
  2. Gazette, July 1958      E'lise F. Harmon,         Assignors to the U.S.A. as represented by the Secretary of the Army      "Silk Screen Stretcher"
         US 2844172 A, filed November 13, 1953, serial no. 392,066, granted July 22, 1958

Inline citations

  1. "California Death Index, 1940–1997". FamilySearch. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  2. Biography Index, New York: H.W. Wilson Co.; ISSN 0006-3053
    Vol. 20: September 1994 – August 1995 (1995); OCLC 33662886 Vol. 27: September 2001 – August 2002 (2002); OCLC 51500525
  3. "Commencement Program for North Texas State Teachers College, August 25, 1931," pg. 2
  4. Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History of Technology, by Autumn Stanley (born 1933), Rutgers University Press (1993), pg. 387; OCLC 31782818
  5. "Chemistry Society Elects Officers," Denton Record-Chronicle, June 20, 1930, pg. 3; OCLC 233143879
  6. "Down the Corridor: Chemistry Centennial," North Texan, March 16, 2011
  7. "Scientists in the News". Science. 123 (3209): 1167–1168. 1956. ISSN 0036-8075. JSTOR 1749934.
  8. "Expansion at Aerovox" (PDF). Radio & Television News. June 29, 1956.
  9. Autumn Stanley (1995). Mothers and daughters of invention. Internet Archive. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-2197-8.
  10. Tatnall, F. G. (1955-01-25). "HIGH TEMPERATURE STRAIN GAGE RESEARCH. Summary Report". doi:10.2172/4369156. OSTI 4369156. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. University of California, Los Angeles. "Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics". Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics.
  12. The Diamond Jubilee Directory, American Chemical Society (1951), pg. 51; OCLC 609953776
  13. Rossiter, Margaret W. (1995). Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action, 1940–1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 340. ISBN 9780801857119. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  14. From Vacuum Tubes to Nanotubes: An Amazing Half Century, Archived 2015-01-07 at the Wayback Machine Michael Martel (ed.), IPC (publisher) (2007), pg. 176
  15. Marquis Who's Who of American Women, Marquis Who's Who; ISSN 0270-2940
    Who's Who of American Women (Hemke is in vol. 1 of 3) 4th ed., 1966–1967 (1965); OCLC 11933899 5th ed., 1968–1969 (1967)
  16. American Women in Technology (encyclopedia), Linda Zierdt-Warshaw (née Linda M. Zierdt; born 1958), Alan Winkler, and Leonard Bernstein (eds.), ABC-CLIO (2000), pg. 131; OCLC 48139041, 4950394347, 539148641
  17. Notable Scientists from 1900 to the Present 2nd ed. (Harmon is in vol. 2 of 5), Gale Group (2001); OCLC 46790795
  18. Notable Twentieth-Century Scientists 2nd ed. (Harmon is in vol. 2 of 4), Gale Research (1995); OCLC 30781516
  19. The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century (Harmon is in vol. 1 of 2), Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie, Joy Dorothy Harvey (eds.), Routledge (2000), pps. 557–558; OCLC 40776839
  20. International Handbook of Aerospace Awards and Trophies, compiled by Signe Ruh Ottersen (1906–2002), Special Libraries Association, Aerospace Division; edited by the staff of the National Air and Space Museum Library, Smithsonian Institution Press (1978); OCLC 3481732
  21. The Women's Book of World Records and Achievements, Lois Decker O'Neill (1920–2004), Anchor Press/Doubleday (1979), pg. 188; OCLC 5842139
  22. Chronology of Women's History, by Kirstin Olsen, Greenwood Press (1994), pg. 286; OCLC 29636971
  23. Women Scientists in America: From Antiquity to the Present, by Caroline L. Herzenberg (born 1932), Locust Hill Press (1986); OCLC 12750495, 612942714
  24. "Tall Texas Girl Makes Mark in Engineer School," Odessa American May 22, 1953, pg. 8
  25. Golden Hurricane Football: At the University of Tulsa, by Chad Bonham, Arcadia Publishing (2004), pg. 21; OCLC 56948322
  26. Obituary: "Georgianna Harmon Ferrari," www.recordnet.com, Local Media Group, Inc., Stockton, California, February 28, 2014
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