Russell and Sigurd Varian
Encyclopedia
Russell Harrison Varian (April 24, 1898 – July 28, 1959) and Sigurd Fergus Varian (May 4, 1901 – October 18, 1961) were brothers who founded one of the earliest high-tech companies in Silicon Valley
. Born to theosophist
parents who helped lead the utopian community of Halcyon, California
, they grew up in a household surrounded with artistic influences, and showed an early interest in electricity. After early careers in electronics and aviation, they came together to invent the klystron
, which became a critical component of radar
, telecommunication
s and other microwave
technologies. In 1948 they founded Varian Associates
to market the klystron and other inventions, and went on to become the first firm to locate in Stanford Industrial Park, the birthplace of Silicon Valley. Russell was a lifelong supporter of the Sierra Club
and Sigurd helped found the progressive housing cooperative
of Ladera
. Both were noted for their progressive political views, and Varian Associates had innovative employee policies that were ahead of its time. In 1950, the Varians were awarded the John Price Wetherill Medal for the development of the klystron, and were both inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame in 1993.
and Agnes Varian, both of whom were born and raised in Ireland. They were members of the Theosophical Society in Dublin. They emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1894, settling in Syracuse, New York, where they became involved with a theosophical group headed by William Dower. When Dower moved to Halcyon, California
, they joined him in 1914, shortly after its founding. Halcyon was a utopian community that included a sanatorium
for the treatment of liquor, morphine, and opium addiction, with socialist
leanings and some communal property. There, John Varian became a leader of the Temple of the People, worked as a chiropractor and masseur
, wrote theosophist poetry and socialist
tracts, and pursued an interest in Irish myth and history. Agnes was the first Halcyon storekeeper and postmistress.
John and Agnes had three sons, Russell, Sigurd and Eric, all of whom had a keen interest in electricity. The family was poor, but noted for affection, laughter and a spirit of adventure. All three boys exhibited an early fascination with electricity, which included pranks such as attaching electrical current to bed springs and door knobs in order to give visitors minor electric shocks. Russell was named in honor of the poet "Æ", George Russell
, whom John had befriended in Ireland. Russell was dyslexic
, and in his childhood many people thought he was "slow," although later events would demonstrate that he was far from unintelligent; Sigurd was the more outgoing of the older two siblings.
Composer Henry Cowell
befriended Russell in 1911, when both men were in their teens, and a piano sonata that Cowell composed for Russell brought Cowell to the attention of John Varian, who, in 1917, asked Cowell to write the prelude for a stage production of John Varian's Irish mythical poetry cycle, The Building of Banba. This piece, titled The Tides of Manaunaun
, became Cowell's most famous and widely performed work.
Cowell was also a music tutor of Ansel Adams
, and the Varian family became friends with Adams, who became particularly close to Russell and Sigurd through their mutual activity in the Sierra Club
. Adams knew the family for over 30 years, and was a hiking companion of Russell's; the pair made many trips into the Sierras. Adams later used a line from one of John Varian's poems, "...What Majestic Word," as the title of his 1963 Portfolio Four, which was dedicated in memory of Russell. The portfolio, of which only 200 copies were printed, was narrated with the words of John and Russell Varian, and was sold as a fundraiser for the Sierra Club.
, which ultimately became a state park in 1968. He was also a longtime member of the Sierra Club and, as part of the organization's Conservation Committee, worked on efforts to acquire land to further the conservation efforts of the organization. In addition, he was a member of the League for Civic Unity and the ACLU
.
Sigurd and his wife, Winnie, were among the residents of Ladera
, a housing cooperative
near Stanford University. The Varian family's interest in the conservation of California's natural heritage was also carried on by Sigurd's son, Jack Varian, owner of the V6 Ranch near Parkfield, California
, which today consists of over 17,000 acres in two counties. The ranch is entirely protected by a conservation easement
that is part of the California Rangeland Trust
's Diablo Range Project.
Russell and Sigurd's brother, Eric Varian, remained in the Halcyon area. He had a career in the central California coast as an electrical contractor, and, beginning in the early 1960s, also assisted the work of his daughter, Sheila Varian
, who became a noted breeder of Arabian horse
s. Russell's wife Dorothy, by then a widow, provided short-term loans that helped support the Varian Arabian horse breeding program in its early years.
Both Russell and Sigurd had their lives cut short; Russell died in 1959 while on a trip to Alaska due to a heart condition. In 1961, Sigurd crashed his private plane near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
, overcoming his learning disabilities with what was described as hard work and sheer force of will. He completed his master's degree in 1927. He went to work in the San Francisco area and was introduced to television technology when he worked for Philo Farnsworth
.
Sigurd attended California Polytechnic State University
, but, mostly due to boredom, dropped out and never completed a college degree. Through much of his career, Sigurd also was periodically ill due to tuberculosis
. After a brief stint working for Southern California Edison
Company stringing power lines, he took flying lessons and became a pilot, airplane mechanic, and self-taught engineer. He worked as a barnstormer
and later as a pilot for Pan American Airways, at a time when the company developed new routes into Mexico and South America. From this experience, he discovered many problems with existing maps, finding, for example, that some Mexican charts showed swamps where there were actually mountains. He also realized how difficult it was to land safely or to detect other planes at night or when it was overcast. As a result, he was very familiar with the inadequacies of existing navigational equipment and became interested in ways to make flying safer.
In the early 1930s, in addition to his strong interest in navigation
, Sigurd also was concerned about the rise of Adolf Hitler
in Germany and the political situation in Spain
. His experience as a pilot in Central and South America made him particularly aware of the vulnerability of the Panama Canal
to enemy attack, as he believed it was relatively simple to fly over a military target at night or in heavy overcast without any existing defense system being able to provide warning. Ed Ginzton, who later helped the brothers establish Varian Associates, stated: “[Sigurd] felt that Hitler could easily establish bases in Central America, from which his planes could fly into the United States at night, or at low elevations, and drop bombs, without ever being detected.”
Sigurd was particularly interested in technologies such as all-weather navigation systems, and suggested to Russell that together they could create a radio-based technology using microwaves that could detect airplanes at night or in clouds. Russell agreed, and they both quit their jobs, set up their own lab at Halcyon, and began developing plans for a device that could precisely determine the location and direction of an airplane. They floundered somewhat due to their isolation, first attempting to create a radio compass, but could not develop a successful design. They ultimately sought assistance from Russell's college roommate, William Hansen, who was by then a professor at Stanford. With Hansen's help, they came to the attention of the head of the Stanford physics department, David Webster
, who hired them in 1936 to work on their inventions at the University in exchange for lab space, $100 a year for supplies, and an agreement that Stanford University would have half of the royalties for any patents they obtained.
After several rejected models, Russell came up with a way to use velocity modulation to allow electrons to flow in bunches and control their speed. They also benefitted from the work of A. Arsenjewa-Heil and Oskar Heil
who published material on velocity modulation theory in 1935. The brothers and Hansen ultimately created the klystron
, the first tube
that could generate electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies. Russell was responsible for the design and Sigurd built the first prototype, which was completed in August 1937.
The klystron was noticed in 1938 by Sperry Gyroscope, who gave the Varian brothers and Hansen a contract to do further work on their project. The Varians did not know that the British were working on early radar
technology at the same time, which by then could detect submarines, but could not be made light enough to use in airplanes. But upon publication of a peer-reviewed paper in 1939, news of the klystron immediately influenced the work of US and UK researchers working on radar technology. Thereafter, Klystron equipment was set up in Boston in 1939, and successful blind-landing tests of airplanes were completed. The Varians moved to the east coast in 1940 to work for Sperry, where wartime development of the klystron continued. Though little is known of their work in this period because they presumably were working on classified projects, it appears that they directed the vacuum tube
and radar work of Sperry during World War II
. The US and Britain were able to use this technology to create radar equipment light and compact enough to fit into aircraft. This technology was credited with helping the Allies win the war. After the war, the klystron became an important component in further development of radar and the microwave industry. It was used in broadcast television, and critical in the development of various telecommunication
s technologies. In 1950, the Varians were awarded the John Price Wetherill Medal of the Franklin Institute
"in recognition of their foresight... energy and technical insight in developing... the klystron..." Today klystron technology is still used in UHF television and the free-electron laser.
Each brother went on to develop a number of other inventions. Russell gained patents for technology related to thermionic tubes, magnetic resonance of the nuclei of atoms
(NMR), as used in magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), and various radar technologies. Sigurd's own inventions, some of which he patented, included a system of pumps, filters, and heaters for his swimming pool, as well as a high-speed drill press. Sigurd also led projects to build models and prototypes that put Russell's concepts into usable products.
The Russell Varian Prize, sponsored by Varian Inc., honors the memory of Russell Varian, recognizes "innovative contributions of high and broad impact on state-of-the-art NMR technology", and carries with it a prize of €15,000. It is presented annually at EUROMAR, the annual joint conference of the European magnetic resonance scientific community, including the UK Royal Society of Chemistry
NMR group, AMPERE Congress, and the European Experimental NMR Conference (EENC).
. They initially created the company to commercialize the klystron and develop other technologies, such as small linear accelerators to generate photon
s for external beam radiation therapy
. They also were very interested in nuclear magnetic resonance
technology. Russell's wife, Dorothy, was also active in the development of the company and its operations. The Articles of Incorporation were filed on April 20, 1948, and signed by nine directors: Edward L. Ginzton, who had worked with the Varian brothers since his days as a doctoral student; William W. Hansen, Richard M. Leonard
, an attorney; Leonard I. Schiff
, then head of the physics department at Stanford; H. Myrl Stearns, Russell H. Varian, Dorothy Varian, Sigurd F. Varian and Paul B. Hunter. The company began with six full-time employees: the Varian brothers, Dorothy, Myrl Stearns, Fred Salisbury, and Don Snow. Technical and business assistance came from several members of the faculty at Stanford University, including Edward Ginzton, Marvin Chodorow, William Hansen, and Leonard Schiff. Francis Farquhar, an accountant and friend of Russell's from the Sierra Club, later became a director, as did Frederick Terman
, Dean of Engineering at Stanford, and David Packard
, of Hewlett-Packard
. Russell served as the company President and a board member until his death; Sigurd served as Vice-President for Engineering, and served on the Board of Directors until his death, sometimes serving as Chairman of the Board. Following the deaths of both Varian brothers, Ginzton became the CEO of the company.
Most of the founders of Varian Associates, including Russell and Sigurd, had progressive
political leanings, and the company "pioneered profit-sharing, stock-ownership, insurance, and retirement plans for employees long before these benefits became mandatory". Nearly 50 years later, in 1997, the company was still recognized by Industry Week as one of the best-managed companies in America.
The company was initially headquartered in San Carlos, California
, and started with only $22,000 in funding. It had problems raising additional capital, particularly due to Russell's insistence that the company be owned by its employees and his related refusal to accept outside investors. Hansen mortgaged his home for $17,000 to raise additional cash, and the group sought out additional funds from their friends. Ultimately, however, the company raised $120,000 of necessary capital via an offer of stock to all employees, directors, consultants, and a few sympathetic local investors who shared the company's goals. Military contracts for technology deemed necessary during the Cold War
, including some classified projects, also helped the firm succeed. In 1953, Varian Associates moved its headquarters to Palo Alto, California
, at Stanford Industrial Park – noted as the "spawning ground of Silicon Valley" – and was the first firm to occupy a site there. Several spin-off corporations developed after the death of the Varian brothers; one branch, Varian, Inc.
, was acquired by Agilent Technologies
in May, 2010.
One of Varian Associates' major contracts in the 1950s was to create a fuse for the atomic bomb. The Varian brothers had initially been supportive of military applications for the klystron and other technologies, on the grounds that they were primarily defensive weapons. This contract, however, was different. Although politically progressive to the point of having socialist leanings, the Varians were patriotic at heart and had no sympathy for the Marxist model of socialism practiced by the Soviet Union
. They also needed military contracts to survive and relished the technical challenges of this sort of work, but as early as 1958 Russell and Sigurd expressed regret for their involvement in the development of weapons of mass destruction.
In 1998, the Congressional Record
noted the 50th anniversary of the founding of Varian Associates, which then employed 7,000 people at 100 plants in nine countries. It had branched out into health care systems, analytical equipment and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. California Representative Anna Eshoo
stated that the company had been awarded over 10,000 patents and was a "jewel in the crown of...Silicon Valley."
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
. Born to theosophist
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
parents who helped lead the utopian community of Halcyon, California
Halcyon, California
Halcyon, California is an unincorporated community of approximately 125 acres in San Luis Obispo County, California, located just beyond the southern border of the city of Arroyo Grande...
, they grew up in a household surrounded with artistic influences, and showed an early interest in electricity. After early careers in electronics and aviation, they came together to invent the klystron
Klystron
A klystron is a specialized linear-beam vacuum tube . Klystrons are used as amplifiers at microwave and radio frequencies to produce both low-power reference signals for superheterodyne radar receivers and to produce high-power carrier waves for communications and the driving force for modern...
, which became a critical component of radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s and other microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
technologies. In 1948 they founded Varian Associates
Varian Associates
Varian Associates was one of the first high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1948 by Russell H. and Sigurd F. Varian, William Webster Hansen, and Edward Ginzton to sell the klystron, the first tube which could generate electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies, and other...
to market the klystron and other inventions, and went on to become the first firm to locate in Stanford Industrial Park, the birthplace of Silicon Valley. Russell was a lifelong supporter of the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
and Sigurd helped found the progressive housing cooperative
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
of Ladera
Ladera, California
Ladera is a census-designated place located in southern San Mateo County, California adjacent to Portola Valley. Primarily a residential community, it comprises approximately 520 homes. The ZIP Code is 94028 and the community is inside area code 650...
. Both were noted for their progressive political views, and Varian Associates had innovative employee policies that were ahead of its time. In 1950, the Varians were awarded the John Price Wetherill Medal for the development of the klystron, and were both inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame in 1993.
Childhood
The parents of the Varian brothers were JohnJohn Osborne Varian
John Osborne Varian was an Irish-American poet and amateur musician who was one of the early members of the Temple of the People and a leader within the theosophist utopian community of Halcyon, California. Two of his sons, Russell and Sigurd Varian, became notable inventors and went on to found...
and Agnes Varian, both of whom were born and raised in Ireland. They were members of the Theosophical Society in Dublin. They emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1894, settling in Syracuse, New York, where they became involved with a theosophical group headed by William Dower. When Dower moved to Halcyon, California
Halcyon, California
Halcyon, California is an unincorporated community of approximately 125 acres in San Luis Obispo County, California, located just beyond the southern border of the city of Arroyo Grande...
, they joined him in 1914, shortly after its founding. Halcyon was a utopian community that included a sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
for the treatment of liquor, morphine, and opium addiction, with socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
leanings and some communal property. There, John Varian became a leader of the Temple of the People, worked as a chiropractor and masseur
Massage
Massage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...
, wrote theosophist poetry and socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
tracts, and pursued an interest in Irish myth and history. Agnes was the first Halcyon storekeeper and postmistress.
John and Agnes had three sons, Russell, Sigurd and Eric, all of whom had a keen interest in electricity. The family was poor, but noted for affection, laughter and a spirit of adventure. All three boys exhibited an early fascination with electricity, which included pranks such as attaching electrical current to bed springs and door knobs in order to give visitors minor electric shocks. Russell was named in honor of the poet "Æ", George Russell
George William Russell
George William Russell who wrote under the pseudonym Æ , was an Irish nationalist, writer, editor, critic, poet, and painter. He was also a mystical writer, and centre of a group of followers of theosophy in Dublin, for many years.-Organisor:Russell was born in Lurgan, County Armagh...
, whom John had befriended in Ireland. Russell was dyslexic
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, and in his childhood many people thought he was "slow," although later events would demonstrate that he was far from unintelligent; Sigurd was the more outgoing of the older two siblings.
Composer Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell was an American composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by Virgil Thomson, writing in the early 1950s:...
befriended Russell in 1911, when both men were in their teens, and a piano sonata that Cowell composed for Russell brought Cowell to the attention of John Varian, who, in 1917, asked Cowell to write the prelude for a stage production of John Varian's Irish mythical poetry cycle, The Building of Banba. This piece, titled The Tides of Manaunaun
The Tides of Manaunaun
The Tides of Manaunaun is a short piano piece by American composer Henry Cowell . It was composed in 1917, originally serving as a prelude to a theatrical production, The Building of Banba...
, became Cowell's most famous and widely performed work.
Cowell was also a music tutor of Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
, and the Varian family became friends with Adams, who became particularly close to Russell and Sigurd through their mutual activity in the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
. Adams knew the family for over 30 years, and was a hiking companion of Russell's; the pair made many trips into the Sierras. Adams later used a line from one of John Varian's poems, "...What Majestic Word," as the title of his 1963 Portfolio Four, which was dedicated in memory of Russell. The portfolio, of which only 200 copies were printed, was narrated with the words of John and Russell Varian, and was sold as a fundraiser for the Sierra Club.
Family and personal life
Russell and his wife, Dorothy, worked to preserve Castle RockCastle Rock State Park (California)
Castle Rock State Park is a state park of California, USA, located along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It embraces coast redwood, Douglas fir, and madrone forest, most of which has been left in its wild, natural state. Steep canyons are sprinkled with unusual rock formations that is a...
, which ultimately became a state park in 1968. He was also a longtime member of the Sierra Club and, as part of the organization's Conservation Committee, worked on efforts to acquire land to further the conservation efforts of the organization. In addition, he was a member of the League for Civic Unity and the ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
.
Sigurd and his wife, Winnie, were among the residents of Ladera
Ladera, California
Ladera is a census-designated place located in southern San Mateo County, California adjacent to Portola Valley. Primarily a residential community, it comprises approximately 520 homes. The ZIP Code is 94028 and the community is inside area code 650...
, a housing cooperative
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
near Stanford University. The Varian family's interest in the conservation of California's natural heritage was also carried on by Sigurd's son, Jack Varian, owner of the V6 Ranch near Parkfield, California
Parkfield, California
Parkfield is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located on Little Cholame Creek east of Bradley, at an elevation of 1529 feet...
, which today consists of over 17,000 acres in two counties. The ranch is entirely protected by a conservation easement
Conservation easement
In the United States, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land...
that is part of the California Rangeland Trust
California Rangeland Trust
The California Rangeland Trust was formed in 1998 by a group of ranchers within the California Cattlemen's Association. Since its inception, the trust has worked with voluntary landowners and other conservation partners to conserve of rangeland on 27 ranches across 19 counties.Steve Sinton was...
's Diablo Range Project.
Russell and Sigurd's brother, Eric Varian, remained in the Halcyon area. He had a career in the central California coast as an electrical contractor, and, beginning in the early 1960s, also assisted the work of his daughter, Sheila Varian
Sheila Varian
Sheila Varian is a breeder of Arabian horses who lives and works at the Varian Arabians Ranch near Arroyo Grande, California. She grew up with a strong interest in horses, and was mentored in horsemanship by Mary "Sid" Spencer, a local rancher and Morgan horse breeder who also introduced Varian to...
, who became a noted breeder of Arabian horse
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
s. Russell's wife Dorothy, by then a widow, provided short-term loans that helped support the Varian Arabian horse breeding program in its early years.
Both Russell and Sigurd had their lives cut short; Russell died in 1959 while on a trip to Alaska due to a heart condition. In 1961, Sigurd crashed his private plane near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Careers
Russell earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, overcoming his learning disabilities with what was described as hard work and sheer force of will. He completed his master's degree in 1927. He went to work in the San Francisco area and was introduced to television technology when he worked for Philo Farnsworth
Philo Farnsworth
Philo Taylor Farnsworth was an American inventor and television pioneer. Although he made many contributions that were crucial to the early development of all-electronic television, he is perhaps best known for inventing the first fully functional all-electronic image pickup device , the "image...
.
Sigurd attended California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....
, but, mostly due to boredom, dropped out and never completed a college degree. Through much of his career, Sigurd also was periodically ill due to tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. After a brief stint working for Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison , the largest subsidiary of Edison International , is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California, USA. It provides 14 million people with electricity...
Company stringing power lines, he took flying lessons and became a pilot, airplane mechanic, and self-taught engineer. He worked as a barnstormer
Barnstorming
Barnstorming was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s in which stunt pilots would perform tricks with airplanes, either individually or in groups called a flying circus. Barnstorming was the first major form of civil aviation in the history of flight...
and later as a pilot for Pan American Airways, at a time when the company developed new routes into Mexico and South America. From this experience, he discovered many problems with existing maps, finding, for example, that some Mexican charts showed swamps where there were actually mountains. He also realized how difficult it was to land safely or to detect other planes at night or when it was overcast. As a result, he was very familiar with the inadequacies of existing navigational equipment and became interested in ways to make flying safer.
In the early 1930s, in addition to his strong interest in navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
, Sigurd also was concerned about the rise of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in Germany and the political situation in Spain
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. His experience as a pilot in Central and South America made him particularly aware of the vulnerability of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
to enemy attack, as he believed it was relatively simple to fly over a military target at night or in heavy overcast without any existing defense system being able to provide warning. Ed Ginzton, who later helped the brothers establish Varian Associates, stated: “[Sigurd] felt that Hitler could easily establish bases in Central America, from which his planes could fly into the United States at night, or at low elevations, and drop bombs, without ever being detected.”
Sigurd was particularly interested in technologies such as all-weather navigation systems, and suggested to Russell that together they could create a radio-based technology using microwaves that could detect airplanes at night or in clouds. Russell agreed, and they both quit their jobs, set up their own lab at Halcyon, and began developing plans for a device that could precisely determine the location and direction of an airplane. They floundered somewhat due to their isolation, first attempting to create a radio compass, but could not develop a successful design. They ultimately sought assistance from Russell's college roommate, William Hansen, who was by then a professor at Stanford. With Hansen's help, they came to the attention of the head of the Stanford physics department, David Webster
David L. Webster
David Locke Webster was an American physicist and physics professor, whose early research on X-rays and Parson's magneton influenced Arthur Compton.-Biography:...
, who hired them in 1936 to work on their inventions at the University in exchange for lab space, $100 a year for supplies, and an agreement that Stanford University would have half of the royalties for any patents they obtained.
After several rejected models, Russell came up with a way to use velocity modulation to allow electrons to flow in bunches and control their speed. They also benefitted from the work of A. Arsenjewa-Heil and Oskar Heil
Oskar Heil
Oskar Heil was a German electrical engineer and inventor. He studied physics, chemistry, mathematics, and music at the Georg-August University of Göttingen and was awarded his PhD in 1933, for his work on molecular spectroscopy.-Personal life:At the Georg-August University in Göttingen, Oskar Heil...
who published material on velocity modulation theory in 1935. The brothers and Hansen ultimately created the klystron
Klystron
A klystron is a specialized linear-beam vacuum tube . Klystrons are used as amplifiers at microwave and radio frequencies to produce both low-power reference signals for superheterodyne radar receivers and to produce high-power carrier waves for communications and the driving force for modern...
, the first tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
that could generate electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies. Russell was responsible for the design and Sigurd built the first prototype, which was completed in August 1937.
The klystron was noticed in 1938 by Sperry Gyroscope, who gave the Varian brothers and Hansen a contract to do further work on their project. The Varians did not know that the British were working on early radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
technology at the same time, which by then could detect submarines, but could not be made light enough to use in airplanes. But upon publication of a peer-reviewed paper in 1939, news of the klystron immediately influenced the work of US and UK researchers working on radar technology. Thereafter, Klystron equipment was set up in Boston in 1939, and successful blind-landing tests of airplanes were completed. The Varians moved to the east coast in 1940 to work for Sperry, where wartime development of the klystron continued. Though little is known of their work in this period because they presumably were working on classified projects, it appears that they directed the vacuum tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
and radar work of Sperry during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The US and Britain were able to use this technology to create radar equipment light and compact enough to fit into aircraft. This technology was credited with helping the Allies win the war. After the war, the klystron became an important component in further development of radar and the microwave industry. It was used in broadcast television, and critical in the development of various telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s technologies. In 1950, the Varians were awarded the John Price Wetherill Medal of the Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
"in recognition of their foresight... energy and technical insight in developing... the klystron..." Today klystron technology is still used in UHF television and the free-electron laser.
Each brother went on to develop a number of other inventions. Russell gained patents for technology related to thermionic tubes, magnetic resonance of the nuclei of atoms
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance is a physical phenomenon in which magnetic nuclei in a magnetic field absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiation...
(NMR), as used in magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
(MRI), and various radar technologies. Sigurd's own inventions, some of which he patented, included a system of pumps, filters, and heaters for his swimming pool, as well as a high-speed drill press. Sigurd also led projects to build models and prototypes that put Russell's concepts into usable products.
The Russell Varian Prize, sponsored by Varian Inc., honors the memory of Russell Varian, recognizes "innovative contributions of high and broad impact on state-of-the-art NMR technology", and carries with it a prize of €15,000. It is presented annually at EUROMAR, the annual joint conference of the European magnetic resonance scientific community, including the UK Royal Society of Chemistry
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry is a learned society in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences." It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society and the Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new...
NMR group, AMPERE Congress, and the European Experimental NMR Conference (EENC).
Varian Associates
The Varian brothers and their associates individually left Sperry and returned to the West Coast between 1945 and 1948. In 1948, Varian Associates was founded by Russell and Sigurd, along with William Webster Hansen and Edward GinztonEdward Ginzton
Edward Leonard Ginzton was a Ukrainian-American physicist.-Education:Ginzton completed his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and his Ph.D...
. They initially created the company to commercialize the klystron and develop other technologies, such as small linear accelerators to generate photon
Photon
In physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic unit of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force...
s for external beam radiation therapy
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy , radiation oncology, or radiotherapy , sometimes abbreviated to XRT or DXT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells.Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumor because of its ability to control...
. They also were very interested in nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance is a physical phenomenon in which magnetic nuclei in a magnetic field absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiation...
technology. Russell's wife, Dorothy, was also active in the development of the company and its operations. The Articles of Incorporation were filed on April 20, 1948, and signed by nine directors: Edward L. Ginzton, who had worked with the Varian brothers since his days as a doctoral student; William W. Hansen, Richard M. Leonard
Richard M. Leonard
Richard Manning Leonard was an American rock climber, environmentalist and attorney. He served as president of the Sierra Club and the Save the Redwoods League, and was active in the Wilderness Society and the American Alpine Club...
, an attorney; Leonard I. Schiff
Leonard I. Schiff
Leonard Isaac Schiff was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on March 29, 1915 and died on Jan 21, 1971.He was a physicist best known for his book Quantum Mechanics.-Education:...
, then head of the physics department at Stanford; H. Myrl Stearns, Russell H. Varian, Dorothy Varian, Sigurd F. Varian and Paul B. Hunter. The company began with six full-time employees: the Varian brothers, Dorothy, Myrl Stearns, Fred Salisbury, and Don Snow. Technical and business assistance came from several members of the faculty at Stanford University, including Edward Ginzton, Marvin Chodorow, William Hansen, and Leonard Schiff. Francis Farquhar, an accountant and friend of Russell's from the Sierra Club, later became a director, as did Frederick Terman
Frederick Terman
Frederick Emmons Terman was an American academic. He is widely credited with being the father of Silicon Valley.-Education:...
, Dean of Engineering at Stanford, and David Packard
David Packard
David Packard was a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard , serving as president , CEO , and Chairman of the Board . He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969–1971 during the Nixon administration...
, of Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
. Russell served as the company President and a board member until his death; Sigurd served as Vice-President for Engineering, and served on the Board of Directors until his death, sometimes serving as Chairman of the Board. Following the deaths of both Varian brothers, Ginzton became the CEO of the company.
Most of the founders of Varian Associates, including Russell and Sigurd, had progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
political leanings, and the company "pioneered profit-sharing, stock-ownership, insurance, and retirement plans for employees long before these benefits became mandatory". Nearly 50 years later, in 1997, the company was still recognized by Industry Week as one of the best-managed companies in America.
The company was initially headquartered in San Carlos, California
San Carlos, California
San Carlos is a city in San Mateo County, California, USA on the San Francisco Peninsula, about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. It is an affluent small residential suburb located between Belmont to the north and Redwood City to the south. San Carlos' ZIP code is 94070, and it is within...
, and started with only $22,000 in funding. It had problems raising additional capital, particularly due to Russell's insistence that the company be owned by its employees and his related refusal to accept outside investors. Hansen mortgaged his home for $17,000 to raise additional cash, and the group sought out additional funds from their friends. Ultimately, however, the company raised $120,000 of necessary capital via an offer of stock to all employees, directors, consultants, and a few sympathetic local investors who shared the company's goals. Military contracts for technology deemed necessary during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, including some classified projects, also helped the firm succeed. In 1953, Varian Associates moved its headquarters to Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, at Stanford Industrial Park – noted as the "spawning ground of Silicon Valley" – and was the first firm to occupy a site there. Several spin-off corporations developed after the death of the Varian brothers; one branch, Varian, Inc.
Varian, Inc.
Varian, Inc. was one of the largest manufacturers of scientific instruments for the scientific industry; they had offerings over the whole range of chemical analysis equipment, with a particular focus on Information Rich Detection and Vacuum technology...
, was acquired by Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies , or Agilent, is a company that designs and manufactures electronic and bio-analytical measurement instruments and equipment for measurement and evaluation...
in May, 2010.
One of Varian Associates' major contracts in the 1950s was to create a fuse for the atomic bomb. The Varian brothers had initially been supportive of military applications for the klystron and other technologies, on the grounds that they were primarily defensive weapons. This contract, however, was different. Although politically progressive to the point of having socialist leanings, the Varians were patriotic at heart and had no sympathy for the Marxist model of socialism practiced by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. They also needed military contracts to survive and relished the technical challenges of this sort of work, but as early as 1958 Russell and Sigurd expressed regret for their involvement in the development of weapons of mass destruction.
In 1998, the Congressional Record
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
noted the 50th anniversary of the founding of Varian Associates, which then employed 7,000 people at 100 plants in nine countries. It had branched out into health care systems, analytical equipment and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. California Representative Anna Eshoo
Anna Eshoo
Anna Georges Eshoo is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, which includes part of Silicon Valley, includes the cities of Redwood City, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto...
stated that the company had been awarded over 10,000 patents and was a "jewel in the crown of...Silicon Valley."
See also
- Continental ElectronicsContinental ElectronicsContinental Electronics is a major American manufacturer of broadcast and military radio transmitters, based in Dallas, Texas. Although Continental today is best known for its FM, shortwave, and military VLF transmitters, Continental is most significant historically for its line of mediumwave ...
, a subsidiary from 1985 to 1990 - Communications & Power IndustriesCPI InternationalCPI International, Inc. is the holding company for Communications & Power Industries, the largest manufacturer and rebuilder of electron devices in the United States. C&PI was founded in 1995 when Varian Associates sold its electron-device business to concentrate on medical systems...
, a 1995 spin-off, which includes the Varian brothers' original klystron business - IntevacIntevacIntevac, Inc. is headquartered in Santa Clara, California in the Silicon Valley. The company has U.S. offices in Carlsbad, California and Laramie, Wyoming and in Asia, with offices in China, Japan, Korea and Malaysia and Singapore....
, a 1991 spin off - Varian Data MachinesVarian Data MachinesVarian Data Machines was a division of Varian Associates which sold minicomputers. It entered the market in 1966, but met stiff competition and was bought by Sperry Corporation in 1977....
, a former division of Varian Associates that sold minicomputerMinicomputerA minicomputer is a class of multi-user computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems and the smallest single-user systems...
s - Varian, Inc.Varian, Inc.Varian, Inc. was one of the largest manufacturers of scientific instruments for the scientific industry; they had offerings over the whole range of chemical analysis equipment, with a particular focus on Information Rich Detection and Vacuum technology...
, a scientific instrument company spun off from Varian Associates in 1999. - Varian Medical SystemsVarian Medical SystemsVarian Medical Systems of Palo Alto, California, is a manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer...
Sources
- Hicks, Michael (2002). Henry Cowell, Bohemian. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02751-5
Further reading
- Johnson, Steven. "Henry Cowell, John Varian, and Halcyon." American Music. (Spring, 1993): 1-27.
External links
- J. Tracy O'Rourke joins Varian Associates
- Guide to the Varian Associates Records at The Bancroft Library