Several aspects of the proposal, which aims to expand open access, require serious discussion and, in some cases, a rethink.
Image credit: Dave Cutler (artist).
New Research In
Physical Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
Biological Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
It is not unusual for the careers of scientists and engineers to span a range of topics, driven by their insatiable curiosity about how things work, the fun they derive from problem solving, an aesthetic sense for “sweet solutions,” and a joy in sharing their knowledge with others. Few careers have spanned as wide a breadth, or better reflected the technological explosion in the second half of the 20th century, than that of Kenneth L. Bowles, who died in California on August 15, 2018.
Bowles (“Ken” to everyone who knew him) began his career in experimental ionospheric physics and space science. In the course of pushing the bounds of early computers, he became passionate about moving computing off of large mainframes and onto small but powerful individual computers. In 1968 Ken became director of the computer center at University of California at San Diego (UCSD), and in 1974 began development of UCSD Pascal, the project for which he is best known. Ken went on to found a start-up that focused on developing the Ada computer language, and then in retirement became an accomplished wildflower photographer.
Observing the Top of the Atmosphere
Ken completed his doctorate at Cornell, in Ithaca, New York, under Henry G. Booker in 1955, using coherent backscatter radar to study the aurora borealis. He then joined the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory of the US National Bureau of Standards (NBS), in Boulder, Colorado. In the days before satellites, it was only possible to observe the bottom part of the ionosphere by using upward pointing radars called ionospheric sounders, which could trace out the density of free electrons up to the point of their highest concentration (the F-layer maximum at a height of around 400 kilometers).
What did the upper ionosphere look like? How far out did it go? Cornell’s Bill Gordon (1) suggested that …
↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: granger.morgan{at}andrew.cmu.edu.
Log in using your username and password
Purchase access
You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
The varied careers of Kenneth L. Bowles
Sign up for Article Alerts
Jump to section
You May Also be Interested in
Several large or long-lived animals seem strangely resistant to developing cancer. Elucidating the reasons why could lead to promising cancer-fighting strategies in humans.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com/ronnybas frimages.
PNAS Profile of NAS member and biochemist Hao Wu
A study suggests a putative gene-expression hallmark common to monogamous male vertebrates of some species, namely cichlid fishes, dendrobatid frogs, passeroid songbirds, common voles, and deer mice, and identifies 24 candidate genes potentially associated with monogamy.
Image courtesy of Yusan Yang (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh).
Physical and social well-being in old age are linked to self-assessments of life worth, and a spectrum of behavioral, economic, health, and social variables may influence whether aging individuals believe they are leading meaningful lives.
Image courtesy of Pixabay/MabelAmber.
More Articles of This Classification
Related Content
Cited by...
- No citing articles found.