Middlebrook, R. David (Electrical Engineer)

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1929 - 2010

Biographical/Historical

Background: Caltech assistant professor 1955-1958; associate professor 1958-1965; professor 1965-1998; emeritus 1998.

Biographical/Historical

Description: Born in Newcastle, England, Middlebrook was educated at Cambridge University (BA 1952, MA 1956) and at Stanford University (MS 1953, PhD 1955). He joined the Caltech faculty in electrical engineering in 1955.

Middlebrook wrote a pioneering transistor textbook that included mathematical models to help engineers use transistors in their circuit designs. He was well known for his Extra Element Theorem, which gives simple formulas for the effects of adding a single element to a circuit. This theorem is widely used in circuit design and measurements. At Caltech he was awarded the Feynman Prize and the ASCIT Award for Excellence in Teaching. He was the recipient of the Franklin Institute's Longstreth Medal and of several awards by the IEEE.