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Judson French Jr
Judson C French
September 30th, 1922 - February 2nd, 2021
September 30th, 1922 - February 2nd, 2021
Judson C. French, former Dean of staff at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), US Department of Commerce and Director Emeritus of NIST's Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory (EEEL), died at home Tuesday, February 2, 2021 at the age of 98.
Jud was born on September 30, 1922 in Washington, DC to Morrison Brady and Ethel Haviland (Cull) French.
He received a B.S. degree with honors in physics and mathematics from American University in 1943; studied and taught physics at Johns Hopkins University (1943–1944) and at George Washington University (1944–1947); and in 1949 received an M.S. degree from Harvard in physics. He completed graduate studies at MIT in 1951 and upon return to Washington, married his high school sweetheart, Julia "Judy" McAllister in August of that year. He and Judy were together for 77 years until her death in December, 2016 at age 94. Well before Jud's affiliation with NBS/NIST, Judy French's father (Dr. Addams S. McAllister) had been an Assistant Director at NBS. So Judy would always comment that her association with NBS was longer than Jud's.
He later completed graduate studies at Harvard Business School (1968).
His career began when he joined the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) within the US Department of Commerce in 1948 on the recommendation of his college freshman physics professor, Glenn Rouse, who had worked at the NBS Electron Tube Laboratory.
Jud conducted research and development in microwave gas tubes and semiconductor materials and devices prior to assignments in management. His work lead to an understanding of the phenomenon of second breakdown, which was threatening the viability of the then state-of-the-art bipolar transistors.
He served as Chief, Electron Devices Section (1968–1973); Chief, Electronic Technology Division (1973–1978); and Director, Center for Electronic and Electrical Engineering from 1978 until 1988 when NBS became NIST, where Jud continued as Center Director until 1991. He was then appointed Director (1991–1999) and Director Emeritus (1999) of NIST's Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory.
"Jud was the person at NBS most responsible for recognizing the metrology needs of the nascent semiconductor industry. He developed a growing, responsive program with a continuing record of delivery to industry" and founded the NBS/NIST semiconductor metrology program in 1955.
This led to the formation of a technical division devoted to supporting that industry and to recognition by others at NBS of that industry’s importance and needs over a diverse range of technical fields.
Jud was awarded the Department of Commerce Silver Medal Award for meritorious service(1964) and its Gold Medal Award for exceptional service (1978). In 1980, President Jimmy Carter conferred upon him the rank of Meritorious Executive and made him a Charter Member of the Senior Executive Service.
In 1984 President Ronald Regan conferred upon him the rank of Distinguished Executive in the Senior Executive Service for sustained extraordinary accomplishment; and President William J Clinton again conferred the Distinguished Executive award "for exceptional, effective and creative leadership...his abilities and accomplishments have impacted positively on all United States high technology advanced industries."
He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in 1978; a member of the National Academy of Engineering (1990) for outstanding contributions and leadership in developing unique measurements for electronic components, systems and semiconductors; and was honored with his portrait placed in the NIST Portrait Gallery in 2001.
NIST established the Judson C. French Award in 2000 to recognize outstanding achievements by NIST employees for significant improvement in the products NIST delivers directly to industry...in cooperation with other government agencies or private groups, or in cooperation with international metrology organizations.
The award encourages improvement, effectiveness and quality of standards and products generated to meet the needs of industry, state and local governments, federal agencies, and the scientific community.
More than his many awards or honors, Jud was most proud of the accomplishments of his colleagues with whom he worked. As his handwritten retirement speech noted, “So what can I say? That is why I have been here so long. I was lucky. The work was exciting, challenging, fun and exceptionally rewarding. And the people, the people I worked with everyday made the whole career special. There was never a boring day in all 51 years.”
He is survived by their son, Judson "Jud" C French Jr of Winter Park, Florida, and his sister Mary Elizabeth "Betty" French Lowenstein of Washington, DC.
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Tributes
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Judson French Jr
Donna Murphy
February 7, 2022 Dear Jud Jr., I first had the pleasure of meeting your father during my time as a volunteer visiting your mother. That was in June of 2016. I remember my first impressions of Mr. French, with his bright, twinkling blue eyes and his subtle, sweet smile which was so warm and welcoming. He used a walker. I recall that never had I seen a more dignified posture and gait with anyone using a walker. He was elegant. I also remember that he was ahead of his time in choosing not to shake hands. He would clasp his own hands together and nod in greeting. He said it was the way the Japanese greeted each other. Of course, I was most impressed. Since COVID has discontinued handshakes, I imagine Mr. French wouldn’t be a bit surprised. In May of 2017, following the death of your mother in December 2016, I was invited to visit your father as his volunteer. You had contacted my volunteer organization, Caring Matters (previously known as Hospice Caring). I began weekly visits to see your dad. These visits were so delightful. The walls of his room were lined with books. Mr. French said he had read every one of them (and none of them were fiction). Mr. French spoke often of when he first met your mom and their courtship. He had a photo of him in a convertible in which he said he and your mom took many a drive. He loved looking at photos of his loving wife, Judy (Julia). He explained that he and your mother had designed and built your family home. He described how the property was carefully chosen with a backyard of woods in which no other homes would be built. He also spoke of his love of nature and all its creatures. This was another reason this specific home site was chosen. He told me about the many trips to Japan he and your mom made. Just as when I had visited your mother, I learned so much from listening to him. As time went on and Mr. French became less talkative, I read poems to him about birds and nature. He had bird feeders outside his window and watched them admiringly. Jud, you placed corn for the deer and when it was difficult for your dad to come downstairs and see the deer, you entertained him with videos and photos. Your dad told me how intelligent you are and how proud he was of you. He and your mother referred to the three of you as “The Triumvirate”. Not surprisingly, Mr. French never bragged about all his enormous professional achievements and honors. He was modest and self-effacing. It was later I came to see the spectacular award citations with photos of him and several U.S. Presidents. However, he was most proud of the picture of the NIST headquarters with the personal handwritten notes and signatures inscribed on the matting of the picture. He was so pleased and appreciative that each of those people had taken the time to write his/her own message. Jud, visiting with your dad and spending time with him was an honor and a privilege. I am eternally grateful for the blessing of the French family in my life. Your loving devotion and care for your dad enhanced his. Thank you, Jud. Donna Murphy
Judson French Jr
From the March 2021 Standards Alumni Association Newsletter, p. 50 "Judson C. French — Jud to all who knew him, but out of deep respect, Mr. French to many—died on February 2, 2021. His obituary on page 37 highlights some of the facts and statistics of his outstanding life and career. Shortly after his death, Jenny Palla (who had been his secretary for 16 years) sent an email to a number of his friends and colleagues which said in part: “Judson French passed away at his home at the age of 98. His son (Jud, Jr.) called to let me know. At Mr. French’s request, his body was donated to medical science. What a life well lived!” In response to this email more than a dozen personal remembrances were sent — in total, it came to over 3000 words. The breadth and depth of the respect in which Jud was held flowed from those words of tribute which are excerpted below."
Judson French Jr
Judson French Jr
By Robert Hebner - excerpted from the March 2021 SAA Newsletter "Jud molded a generation of leaders and nurtured technology advances that changed the world, while insisting on fun and laughter along the way. Jud was an outstanding technical leader and an interesting person. The longer I worked with him, the more he revealed. And it was fascinating. For example, once I mentioned that I had visited a museum and seen silver items made by Paul Revere himself—it turned out that Jud had some in his home. When I read that someone named French helped Samuel Morse get Federal funding for a telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore, Jud admitted it was an ancestor. Jud grew up in a townhouse on Capitol Hill. Twice, once early and once late in the 20th century, the statue on the Capitol dome was refurbished. The second time, the Architect of the Capitol used the French’s family albums to get pictures of the earlier event because they were not on file. At lunch one day, I mentioned that I had tried for days to contact Gordon Moore, for whom Moore’s Law was named. [Co-founder and chairman emeritus of Intel - Ed] I reported that his gatekeepers had been very effective at deflecting me, so I’d likely stop trying. Within a half hour of returning to my office, my phone rang and the person on the line said, “This is Gordon Moore. Jud said that you’d like to talk with me.” As a technical leader Jud lived his belief that ever improving metrology was a key to U.S. economic growth. He pioneered efforts to get formal economic impact assessments of the R&D advances and also studies to develop a basis for assertions of impact. His focus on appropriate directions for NIST’s investments in research was matched by his desire for each member of his team to succeed beyond his or her expectations. He set high standards. He would define what constituted success; allowed his staff the freedom to achieve it; and made sure that they received full credit and reward for their success. Research required for advancements in measurements and standards was a hallmark of Jud’s leadership. It is no surprise that the Josephson junction voltage array was developed on his watch; or that he facilitated the growth of the domestic optoelectronics industry via mutually beneficial cooperation with Japan; or promoted research that helped kickstart the HDTV standard. NIST and the country greatly benefited from his leadership."
Judson French Jr
When I was a boy, my dad would bring home a briefcase full of work almost every weekend and devote much of the weekend to working his way through it, sitting in his home office. He was also meticulous about our home finances and budgeting. One weekend, I walked into his office as he was finishing up his work, and turning his attention to his personal accounts. As he put away his government work, he also made a point of tucking his U.S. Government pen back into his briefcase. He then moved to his desk where he picked up his OWN favorite pen (a Parker Jotter, which he had in several colors) and began to work on our family’s finances. He didn’t mention it, and neither did I. But I was taught a very valuable lesson in personal ethics that day that I never forgot in the decades that followed. I know many people might think “THAT’S a bit extreme”—only using his government pen for government work—but that was my father. He had a lifelong standard of personal ethics, and doing the right thing even when no one is looking. He set many standards for me that I’ve tried hard to live up to. I never had the slightest doubt that I was the son of an honorable man. Jud Jr (taken from the March '21 SAA Newsletter
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