He was a pioneer in strobe photography, using the technique to capture images of balloons during their bursting, or a bullet during its impact with an apple, for example. He was awarded a bronze medal by the Royal Photographic Society in 1934.
In 1937 he began a lifelong association with photographer Gjon Mili, who used strobe equipment, particularly "multiflash" strobe, to produce strikingly beautiful photographs, many of which appeared in Life Magazine.
He was a cofounder of the company EG&G, with Kenneth Germeshausen and Herbert Grier, in 1947. EG&G became a prime contractor for the Atomic Energy Commission and had a major role in testing nuclear weapons for the United States through the fifties and sixties.
His work was instrumental in the development of side-scan sonar technology, used to scan the sea floor for wrecks. Edgerton worked with the undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau. Edgerton participated in the discovery of the American Civil War battleship USS Monitor.
He was especially loved by MIT students for his willingness to teach and his kindness.
External links
The most famous of all Edgerton's photographs, the Milkdrop Coronet, can be seen here (http://www.agallery.com/Pages/photographers/edgerton.html) and here (http://www.eastman.org/4_educ/4_images/milkdrop.jpg).
The Edgerton Center at MIT (http://web.mit.edu/Edgerton/)
Harold "Doc" Eugene Edgerton, 1903-1990, B.S. 1926, University of Nebraska; S.M. 1927 and Sc.D. 1931 in electrical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was professor of electrical engineering at MIT, 1928-1966; Institute Professor, 1966-1968; and Institute Professor emeritus, 1968-1990.
The HaroldEdgerton manuscript collection was given to the Institute Archives between 1978 and 1993 by Professor Edgerton and his family.
Edgerton's photographs are exhibited in museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
In 1931 HaroldEdgerton invented a stroboscopic light that had wide applications in industry as well as the potential to revolutionize photography.
Edgerton became the first to illuminate nighttime landscapes and darkened interiors, and his technology was capable of freezing the quickest of actions.
Born in Fremont, Nebraska, in 1903, HaroldEdgerton received a BS degree (1925) in electrical engineering from the University of Nebraska, and his MS (1927) and DSc (1931) in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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