Edward E. Simmons

Edward E. Simmons Jr. (1911 in Los Angeles, California – May 18, 2004, in Pasadena, California) was an electrical engineer and the inventor of the bonded wire resistance strain gauge.

Simmons attended the California Institute of Technology, where he received a B.S. in 1934 and an M.S. in 1936. He continued to work for the Institute under Assistant Professor Donald Clark. In 1938, Simmons invented the strain gauge. Caltech claimed the patent on the strain gauge, but Simmons took his case to the Supreme Court of California, and won patent rights in 1949.

The Franklin Institute awarded Simmons the Edward Longstreth Medal in 1944.^[1]

Simmons became notably eccentric later in life, dressing in quasi-medieval attire, including tights, a tutu, a turban, and white women's sandals. He was commonly known among Caltech students as the "Millikan Man," due to his habit of wandering the campus late at night, particularly in the vicinity of Millikan Library. He was known among staff of Caltech as "Renaissance Ralph", and was generally shunned by staff, who were uncertain of his status relative to the institute. One other nickname on campus was "Dr. Strange Gauge". Simmons was repeatedly picked up by Pasadena police who found him wandering nude in the vicinity of Caltech.

He died of cancer in 2004.

See also

• Baldwin Locomotive Works

References

1. ^ "Franklin Laureate Database - Edward Longstreth Medal 1944 Laureates". Franklin Institute. http://www.fi.edu/winners/show_results.faw?gs=&ln=&fn=&keyword=&subject=&award=LONG+&sy=1943&ey=1945&name=Submit. Retrieved November 14, 2011 (2011-11-14). 

External links

• http://online.ceb.com/calcases/C2/34C2d264.htm Simmons vs. Caltech
• http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/EandS/articles/LXVII2/simmons.html Obituary (with photo)
• http://www.sciencebits.com/Crackpots Description of Simmons as a "crackpot"

Persondata
Name	Simmons, Edward
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Short description
Date of birth	1911
Place of birth
Date of death	May 18, 2004
Place of death