John R. Pierce

John Robinson Pierce
John Robinson Pierce
	John Robinson Pierce
Born	March 27, 1910; Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Died	April 2, 2002 (aged 92); Sunnyvale, California, U.S.
Alma mater	California Institute of Technology
Known for	Pulse-code modulation; Theory of traveling wave tubes; Pierce gun; Coining the term transistor;
Awards	Stuart Ballantine Medal (1960); IEEE Edison Medal (1963); IEEE Medal of Honor (1975); Marconi Prize (1979); Japan Prize (1985);
	Scientific career
Fields	Electrical engineering
Institutions	Bell Labs; California Institute of Technology; Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics;

John Robinson Pierce (March 27, 1910 – April 2, 2002), was an American electrical engineer and author. He did extensive work concerning radio communication, microwave technology, computer music, psychoacoustics, and science fiction. Additionally to his professional career he wrote science fiction for many years using the names John Pierce, John R. Pierce, and J. J. Coupling. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he earned his PhD from Caltech, and died in Sunnyvale, California, from complications of Parkinson's Disease.