Louis Winslow Austin (October 30, 1867 – June 27, 1932) was an American physicist known for his research on long-range radio transmissions.
Austin was born in Orwell, Vermont, and educated at Middlebury College (class of 1889) and the University of Strasbourg (then in Germany), from which he received a Ph.D. in 1893. From 1893-1901, he taught physics as an instructor and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, then returned to Germany for two years at the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt in Berlin where he performed research on hot gases.
In 1904 Austin joined the National Bureau of Standards to study radio propagation. After the United States Navy established its Naval Radio Telegraphic Laboratory (later the Naval Research Laboratory) within the bureau, Austin served as its director from 1908–1923, and from 1923-1932 as chief of the Radio Physics Laboratory.
Austin's research focused on radio propagation and static, and more specifically the influence of temperature, humidity, magnetic storms, and sunspots on long-range radio transmissions. Under his direction, the Navy conducted long-distance wireless measurements in 1909 and 1910 between the USS Birmingham and USS Salem, as they steamed to Liberia and back, and Fessenden's station at Brant Rock, Massachusetts. Austin measured received impulses from the ships on the 3,750 and 1,000 meter wavelengths to determine the relationships between radio frequency, distance, and received signal strength. These measurements led Austin and collaborator Dr. Louis Cohen to develop the empirical Austin-Cohen formula for predicting radio signal strength at long distances.
Austin joined the Institute for Radio Engineers (now IEEE) in 1913, in 1914 served as its third president, and in 1927 received its Medal of Honor "for his pioneer work in the quantitative measurement and correlation of factors involved in radio wave transmission." He also served as a U.S. representative at numerous international radio conferences. Austin died on June 27, 1932, in Washington, D.C.
Read more about Louis Winslow Austin: Personal Life, Austin-Cohen Formula
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