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{{Short description|American engineer, businessman, and author}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name              = Simon Ramo
|image             = Air Force Space and Missile Pioneer, Dr. Simon Ramo, c. 1950s.jpg
|image_size        =
|caption           = Simon Ramo, c. 1950s
|birth_date        = {{birth date|1913|5|7}}
|birth_place       = [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], US
|death_date        = {{death date|2016|6|27|1913|5|7}} (aged 103)
|death_place       = [[Santa Monica]], [[California]], US
|field             = {{ubl|[[Electrical engineering]]|[[Physics]]}}
|work_institutions = {{ubl|[[TRW Inc.|TRW]]|[[Bunker Ramo]]|[[General Electric]]|[[Hughes Aircraft Company|Hughes Aircraft]]}}
|alma_mater        = {{ubl|[[University of Utah]]|[[California Institute of Technology]]}}
|doctoral_advisor  = 
|doctoral_students = 
|known_for         = [[Intercontinental ballistic missile]] (ICBM)
|author_abbrev_bot = 
|author_abbrev_zoo = 
|influences        = 
|influenced        = 
|prizes            = {{ubl|[[IEEE Founders Medal]] (1980)|[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (1983)|[[John Fritz Medal]] (1986)}} 
|religion          = 
|footnotes         = 
|signature         =
|spouse=Virginia Smith (2 children)
}}

'''Simon''' "'''Si'''" '''Ramo''' (May 7, 1913 – June 27, 2016) was an American engineer, businessman, and author. He led development of microwave and missile technology and is sometimes known as the father of the [[intercontinental ballistic missile]] (ICBM). He also developed [[General Electric|General Electric's]] [[electron microscope]]. He played prominent roles in the formation of two Fortune 500 companies, Ramo-Wooldridge ([[TRW Inc.|TRW]] after 1958, now part of [[Northrop Grumman]]) and [[Bunker Ramo|Bunker Ramo Corporation]] (now part of [[Honeywell]]).

== Early years ==
Ramo was born in [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], the son of Clara (Trestman) and Benjamin Ramo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2SD-SKQT|title=FamilySearch.org|website=[[FamilySearch]] |accessdate=July 18, 2023}}</ref> His father was a Polish Jewish immigrant and his mother was a Russian Jewish immigrant. He entered the [[University of Utah]] at the age of 16, where he joined [[Theta Tau]] Professional Engineering Fraternity and earned a B.S. in [[electrical engineering]] at the age of 20. By 1936, at the age of 23, he had earned dual PhD degrees from [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]] in [[physics]] and electrical engineering.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/2558/1/1936.pdf |title=Caltech Commencement Program |date=1936-06-12 |publisher=Caltech Campus Publications |access-date=2013-03-29}}</ref>

== Career ==
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2023}}

=== General Electric ===
From 1936 until 1946, he led electronics research at [[General Electric]], where he accumulated 25 patents before the age of 30 and was cited as one of America's most outstanding young electrical engineers. He became globally recognized as a leader in [[microwave]] research and headed the development of GE's [[electron microscope]].

=== Hughes Aircraft ===
In 1946 he returned to California to become director of research for the electronics department of [[Hughes Aircraft]], and his career became coupled with that of [[Dean Wooldridge]]. Together they formed a successful team for many years, with Wooldridge concentrating on investment and general business aspects while Ramo led research, development and engineering.

By 1948, Hughes had created its Aerospace Group to work with the newly created [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]. Dr. Ramo became a Vice-President and the Group's Director of Operations. Ramo employed his skills in Systems Engineering to allow Hughes to deliver integrated RADAR and aircraft fire-control systems. He developed the air-to-air missile, creating the [[AIM-4 Falcon|Falcon missile]].

In 1953 Ramo and [[Dean Wooldridge]] left Hughes Aircraft and formed the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation, later TRW Inc.

=== Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation (TRW Inc.) ===
By 1953 Ramo and the Air Force had become increasingly frustrated with management problems at Hughes. Ramo and Wooldridge were particularly concerned when [[Howard Hughes]] avoided their attempts to discuss the problem. In September they jointly resigned, and within a week they formed the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation  on September 16, 1953.
[[File:Trevor Gardner, Bernard Schriever and Simon Ramo.jpg|thumb|Three people most directly responsible for the success of the early Atlas program: [[Trevor Gardner]], [[Bernard Schriever]] and Simon Ramo, c. 1956.]]
In October 1953 an Assistant [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], [[Trevor Gardner]], created a committee to consider the future of guided missiles. This [[Teapot Committee|Strategic Missile Evaluation Committee]] (SMEC) was headed by [[John von Neumann]] and included both Ramo and Wooldridge. In four months, the committee produced their report and recommended that a crash program was needed to develop [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]s, and that such a program might enable the United States to overtake Russian developments by 1959 or 1960.

The Ramo-Wooldridge Corp. became the lead contractor for the resulting Air Force program. With Dr. Ramo as the driving scientific and engineering officer, they succeeded. In 1958, an [[Atlas (rocket family)|Atlas rocket]] delivered a payload 5,000 miles downrange. The Atlas would go on to serve as the launch vehicle for NASA's [[Project Mercury]] orbital flights, starting with [[John Glenn]] in [[Mercury-Atlas 6|Friendship 7]]. USAF General [[Bernard Adolph Schriever|Bernard Schriever]], head of the ICBM program, described Ramo as "the architect of the [[Thor (rocket family)|Thor]], [[Atlas (rocket family)|Atlas]], and [[Titan (rocket family)|Titan]]" rockets.

According to a July 30, 2002, article, Ramo's comments are legendary for capsulizing complex ideas into off-the-cuff witticisms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jul-30-fi-ramo30-story.html |title=Industry Icon Key Matchmaker in Merger of Northrop, TRW. |date=2002-07-30 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2024-05-27}}</ref>

During a series of key experiments of ballistic missiles in the 1950s at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at which Ramo and Air Force General Bernard Schriever were observers, test rockets kept blowing up on their launch pads. When one missile rose about 6 inches before toppling over and exploding, Ramo reportedly beamed and said: "Well, Benny, now that we know the thing can fly, all we have to do is improve its range a bit."

Ramo-Wooldridge merged with [[TRW Inc.#History|Thompson Products]] to become [[TRW Inc.]], and Simon Ramo became Vice-Chairman. In 1964, TRW and [[Martin Marietta]] formed the jointly owned [[Bunker Ramo|Bunker Ramo Corporation]] with Ramo as President, which expanded into the computer and communications technology fields.

In January 2008, he joined the faculty of the [[University of Southern California]]'s [[USC Viterbi School of Engineering|Viterbi School of Engineering]] as a presidential chair and professor of electrical engineering.<ref name=USC011008>[http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/14703.html Legendary Engineer Joins USC Viterbi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224144316/http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/14703.html |date=February 24, 2008 }}, USC News, January 10, 2008.</ref> Ramo is also a [[List of founding members of the National Academy of Engineering|founding member]] of the [[National Academy of Engineering]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nae.edu/About/leadership/57773.aspx |title=Founding members of the National Academy of Engineering |publisher=[[National Academy of Engineering]] |access-date={{Format date|2012|10|21}}}}</ref>

== Awards, appointments and fellowships ==
Over the course of his career, Ramo received numerous awards and fellowships. He was honored by the [[American Philosophical Society]], the [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] (IEEE), the [[American Physical Society]], and the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].

Ramo served as an advisor to the United States government on science and technology. He was a member of the National Science Board, the White House Council on Energy R&D, the Advisory Council to the Secretary of Commerce, the Advisory Council to the Secretary of State for Science and Foreign Affairs, and of many special advisory committees to the [[U.S. Department of Defense|Defense Department]] and [[NASA]]. President [[Gerald Ford]] appointed Ramo as co-chairman of a committee of distinguished scientists and engineers, requesting Ramo to list the science and technology issues most deserving of attention by the White House and to recommend actions. Following this, Ramo was appointed by President Ford to be chairman of The President's Advisory Committee on Science and Technology, a position created by Congress to advise on how to ensure that science and technology matters receive proper attention at the White House.

In 1980, then-President-elect [[Ronald Reagan]] asked Ramo to assemble a transition task force to advise on executive branch appointments where science and technology background was desirable. President Reagan subsequently invited Ramo to be a Science Adviser to the President of the Republic of China. In that assignment, Ramo aided greatly Taiwan's development of a strong high-technology industry.

On February 23, 1983, Ramo was presented with the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President Reagan.

In 1982, the IEEE Board of Directors initiated the [[IEEE Simon Ramo Medal]] for exceptional achievement in systems engineering and systems science.

In 1988, Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity inducted Simon Ramo, Lambda (Utah)'33, into its [http://thetatau.org/Websites/thetatauhq/images/Alumni_Hall_Of_Fame_Laureates.pdf Alumni Hall of Fame] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909004111/http://thetatau.org/Websites/thetatauhq/images/Alumni_Hall_Of_Fame_Laureates.pdf |date=September 9, 2016 }}.

In 2007, the [[Space Foundation]] awarded Ramo its highest honor, the General [[James E. Hill]] Lifetime Space Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalspacesymposium.org/symposium-awards |title=Symposium Awards &#124; National Space Symposium |access-date=2009-02-03 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203060101/http://www.nationalspacesymposium.org/symposium-awards |archive-date=February 3, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

In 2009, the [http://thetatau.org/Websites/thetatauhq/images/Endowed_Fund_Bios.pdf Theta Tau Educational Foundation] named an annual scholarship in his honor.

Additional awards:

* Founders Medal, [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]]
* John Fritz Medal, American Association of Engineering Societies
* Medal of Honor, [[Electronic Industries Association]]
* Kagan Medal, [[Columbia University]]
* Henry Heald Award, [[Illinois Institute of Technology]]
* Annual Award, [[Harvard Business School]]
* Golden Plate Award, [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]]<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=  https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref>
* Distinguished Service Medal, Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association
* [[The Franklin Institute Awards|Delmer S. Fahrney Medal]]
* Aesculapian Award, [[UCLA School of Medicine]]
* Durand Medal, Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
* Space and Missile Pioneer Award, [[U.S. Air Force]]
* Pioneer Award, [[International Council on Systems Engineering]]
* [[Howard Hughes Memorial Award]]
* Distinguished Alumnus Award, [[University of Utah]]
* National Trophy for Lifetime Achievement, [[Smithsonian Institution]]
* [[NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal]]
* [[University of Southern California]] Presidential Medallion
* [[Space Foundation]] General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award
* [[Junior Achievement]] U.S. Business Hall of Fame inductee

Ramo received numerous patents including one at age 100 concerning the use of technology in education making him the oldest American to be awarded a U.S. patent.

== Publications ==
Ramo authored dozens of books on topics ranging from science textbooks, corporate and technology management, society's relation to technology, economy, and how to play tennis. A selection:

* Fields and Waves in Modern Radio by Simon Ramo and John R. Whinnery (1944)
* Introduction to Microwaves (1945)
* Peacetime Uses of Space (1959, 1977)
* Fields and Waves in Communication Electronics (1965) 
* Extraordinary Tennis For The Ordinary Player (1970)
* The Islands of E, Cono & My (1973) 
* America's Technology Slip (1980)
* The Management of Innovative Technological Corporations (1980) 
* What's Wrong with Our Technological Society—and How to Fix it (1983)
* Tennis By Machiavelli (1984)
* The Business of Science: Winning and Losing in the High-Tech Age (1988) 
* Meetings, Meetings, and More Meetings: Getting Things Done When People Are Involved (2005) 
* Strategic Business Forecasting: A Structured Approach to Shaping the Future of Your Business by Dr. Simon Ramo and Dr. Ronald Sugar (2009) 
* Tales from the Top: How CEOs Act and React (2011) 
* To Wit: A Sense of Humor - A Mandatory Tool of Management (2011) 
* Let Robots do the Dying (2011) 
* Guided Missile Engineering: University of California Engineering Extension Series by Allen E. Puckett and Simon Ramo (2013)

;About Simon Ramo
* Stephen B. Johnson; ''The Secret of Apollo: Systems Management in American and European Space Programs'' 2002, The Johns Hopkins University Press ({{ISBN|0-8018-6898-X}}).
* Davis Dyer; ''TRW: Pioneering Technology and Innovation since 1900'' 1998, Harvard Business School Press ({{ISBN|0-87584-606-8}}).
* G. Harry Stine; ''ICBM'' 1991, Orion Books ({{ISBN|0-517-56768-7}}).
* Ernest Schwiebert; ''History of the U.S. Air Force Ballistic Missiles'' 1965, Praeger Publishers.

== Personal life ==

Ramo was married to Virginia (née Smith) from 1937 until her death in 2009. They had two sons, James Brian and Alan Martin, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Ramo died on June 27, 2016, at the age of 103.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-simon-ramo-20160628-snap-story.html|title=Simon Ramo dies at 103; TRW co-founder who shaped California aerospace|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|author=Peter Pae and W.J. Hennigan|date=2016-06-28|access-date= 2016-06-28}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of textbooks in electromagnetism]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://ethw.org/Simon_Ramo Biographic sketch at IEEE website]
*[http://www.nae.edu/About/Governance/FoundingMembers.aspx List of Founding Members of National Academy of Engineering]
*[http://www.incose.org/about/organization/bios/displayBio.aspx?bio_id=215502 Biographical sketch by the International Council on Systems Engineering]
*[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1983/22383c.htm ''Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011053642/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1983/22383c.htm |date=October 11, 2009 }}
*[http://digital.hagley.org/VID_1993230_B186_ID06_01 ''Interview with Simon Ramo recorded in 1989'']

{{Systems Engineering}}
{{IEEE Founders Medal}}
{{Winners of the National Medal of Science|engineering}}
{{TRW}}
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[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Salt Lake City]]
[[Category:American men centenarians]]
[[Category:American electrical engineers]]
[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:California Institute of Technology trustees]]
[[Category:California Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Founding members of the United States National Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:National Medal of Science laureates]]
[[Category:American rocket scientists]]
[[Category:American systems engineers]]
[[Category:TRW Inc.]]
[[Category:University of Southern California faculty]]
[[Category:University of Utah alumni]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:Scientists from Salt Lake City]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Jewish centenarians]]
[[Category:20th-century American physicists]]