- Raymond W. Ketchledge
Raymond W. Ketchledge (
December 8 1919 -October 23 1987 ) [Amos E. Joel, Jr. , [http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1966&page=128 "Raymond W. Ketchledge, 1919-1987] ] [ [http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/history_center/biography/ketchledge.html biography] fromIEEE ] was an American engineer, known for his contributions to the first computerizedtelephone switching control systems.Born in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1DA1731F93AA15753C1A961948260 Raymond Ketchledge, 67, an Electronics inventor] obituary fromNew York Times (October 29 1987 )] he earned aB.Sc. andM.Sc. (1942) inelectrical engineering fromMassachusetts Institute of Technology before joiningBell Labs where he stayed his wholeprofessional career (1942-1982).At Bell Labs he first worked on the
Mark 24 FIDO Torpedo used inWorld War II ,then he took part in developing the first underwaterrepeater systems and the L3 coaxial carrier forTransatlantic telephone cable systems (1946-54), before he became leader of the "Switching systems" development group(1956). This brought him fame due to the pioneering work on applyingstored program architecture totelephone switching systems. Ketchledge oversaw the installation project for the first1ESS switch inSuccasunna (1965).Following thishe directed the "Indian Hill" laboratories of
Naperville, Illinois (1966-75) before returning to New Jersey where he oversaw the "Ocean systems" research division inWhippany, New Jersey until his retirement.He held sixty patents in diverse areas, including thirty-one in switching system.Ketchledge died ofcancer inEnglewood, Florida .Awards
*
National Academy of Engineering inductee (1970)
*IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal (1976) withAmos E. Joel, Jr. andWilliam Keister
*IEEE Fellow
*New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame inducteeReferences
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