Y.T. Lo
Yuen Tze (Y.T.) Lo was born January 31st, 1920, in Hankou, China, and received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the National Southwestern Associated University in 1942. The National Southwestern Associated University was created through the work of Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University to stave off the destruction of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was initially called Changsha Temporary University but would later adopt the name National Southwestern University. Lo first visited the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's campus at the behest of a friend while on his way to The Ohio State University, but he would never make it. He became drawn to the university and was awarded his master of science and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering in 1949 and 1952, respectively. (1,2,5,6)
From 1946 to 1948, he worked at Tsinghua University, recently established after the end of World War II and the Second Sino-Japanese War, as an instructor. During this two-year period, he also taught at the defunct Yenching University. After receiving his doctorate in 1952, Lo began working at Channel Master Corporation, a maker of tv antennas, in Ellenville, New York. He left Channel Master Corporation in 1956 for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and began his research in the Antenna Lab. (1-5, 7)
Lo would go on to be a faculty member of the university's electrical engineering faculty for 34 years until he retired in 1990, but not before, like many of the people discussed throughout this exhibit conducting groundbreaking research and developing the engineering curriculum of the university even further. It is said in the following quotation:
"He and his graduate students were among the first researchers to formulate a complete theory for antennas that are used in space communications. He and his colleagues developed a cavity model theory for microstrip patch antennas, and Lo subsequently served two terms as an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer on this subject."
In addition to the groundbreaking work he and his students conducted, Y.T. Lo wrote the definitive and widely recognized four-volume Antenna Handbook series. Engineering students around the world still use this series of textbooks. (1,2)
He is also widely recognized for co-writing the definitive educational resource on antennas. His four-volume Antenna Handbook series, which covers everything from mathematical techniques to antenna theory and applications, has been used by thousands of educators and students worldwide." Lo, in 1958 introduced the theory of moments which would, a few years later, become widely adopted by the scientific community. He is also credited with inventing the broadband television receiving antenna and the cavity model theory. The cavity model theory was used to develop the microstrip patch antennas used in GPS systems. (1-3)
Regarding other aspects of his career, Lo was director of the Electromagnetics Lab from 1982 to 1990, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and received the ECE Distinguished Alumni and IEEE’s Antenna Propagation Society Distinguished Achievement Awards. Lo also has a chaired position and fellowship in Electrical & Computer Engineering at UIUC that bears his name. (2,3, 5)
Lo worked on creating military radars and antennas that were groundbreaking technology. The images shown were his creatons made out of materials he found at garage sales.