- Waldo K. Lyon
.
He retired in 1996 after 55 years of government service. During his career he advised top Navy officials on essential matters of
national defense and was personally thanked by Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy for his efforts.Military career
For 51 years, Dr. Lyon worked for
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center , San Diego (SSC San Diego) and its predecessor organizations. Dr. Lyon started work there less than a year after its June 1940 establishment as theNavy Radio and Sound Lab , as their first Ph.D.physicist . He was charged with forming and directing initial efforts of the Sound Division. The lab was used duringWorld War II for testing, repairing and modifying submarine equipment and harbor defense systems in thePacific Ocean . During the war, GermanU-boat s in theGulf of St. Lawrence were undetectable, becausesonar failed under the surfaceice . Dr. Lyon addressed this problem by designing and testing sonar and oceanographic equipment for thesubmarine USS "Boarfish" (SS-327) and participating in the ship's first under-ice dives.:"In 1946 when
Admiral Byrd took the expedition to Antarctica, I got a letter asking if there was any research I wanted to do in conjunction with the expedition. I said yes, try a submarine in the cold water down there," Dr. Lyon said.His recommendation initiated an effort that would last over four decades.
In 1947 Dr. Lyon became head of the
Naval Electronics Laboratory 's, Submarine Studies Branch in the Research Division.Dr. Lyon had a test pool constructed at Battery Whistler (a converted mortar battery at NEL) to test equipment for deep submergence vehicles like Bathyscaphe "Trieste". The pool was equipped to grow
sea ice and study its physical properties. In addition, he established a field station atCape Prince of Wales ,Alaska in 1951.Equipment and techniques were designed and tested to enable submarine operation in the
Arctic Ocean .Brine content and ice elasticity were measured to apply in the design of submarines that could surface through the ice cover. Cold rooms and calibration facilities at the Arctic Submarine Laboratory were used to solve the problem of icing on submarine snorkel head valves. The research culminated in the transpolar submerged voyage of USS "Nautilus" (SSN-571) in 1958.Dr. Lyon's career included scores of under-ice cruises to gain scientific knowledge essential to Arctic submarine operations. He and researcher
Art Roshon developed an under-ice sonar that allowed completion of the first winter cruise by "Sturgeon" class submarines. Through the 1970s and 1980s Dr. Lyon's ongoing research at the Arctic Submarine Laboratory resulted in refurbishment and improvement of the Lab's cryogenic facilities. These facilities were used for evaluating icing issues on "Los Angeles" class submarines, sonar technology developments for remote acoustic measurement of ice thickness, and the ice breakthrough tests for "Seawolf" class submarines.Awards
Dr. Lyon received major awards including:
*TheNavy Distinguished Civilian Service Award (twice)
*TheDefense Distinguished Civilian Service Award
*ThePresident's Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Award
*He was a member of teams that earned thePresidential Unit Citation (US) in 1958 and 1969
*He received theNavy Unit Commendation in 1959, 1960, 1962, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979.He also received numerous non-governmental awards including:
*Gold Medal of theAmerican Society of Naval Engineers
*Silver Century Medal ofSociete de Geographie (Paris)
*Bronze Medal of theRoyal Institute of Navigation (London)
*Bushnell Medal of theAmerican Defense Preparedness Association
*The Lowell Thomas Medal of theExplorer's Club of New York (only the fourth time this medal has been awarded)Last years
Dr Lyon remained active in Arctic research even after retirement. He collaborated with Dr.
William M. Leary on a book detailing development of the submarine Arctic warfare program entitled, "," published in January 1999. Less than two weeks before his death, he met with the president of the prestigious Explorer's Club to plan an expedition to the North Pole. They had planned to dive to the sea floor at the Pole. He died at the age of 84 onMay 5 ,1998 . A memorial service was held on June 20, 1998 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego. Per his family's wishes, Dr. Lyon's ashes were scattered at the North Pole by USS "Hawkbill" (SSN-666) on May 3, 1999.Friends and colleagues of Dr. Lyon have established a memorial scholarship, administered by the
UCLA Foundation , to be awarded to a deserving student in the Physics Department at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Dr. Lyon's alma mater.External links
* [http://www.csp.navy.mil/asl/LyonBio.htm Navy bio] Note: this article was directly derived from the Navy bio text.
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