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Born, Daniel Earl
Noble on October 4th, 1901 in Naugatuck, Connecticut, Dr. Noble
lived a life few could imagine. His contributions to the fields of electronics
earned him the respect of his peers, numerous publications and top industry
accolades. Dan Noble retired as a decorated engineer, accomplished professor
and noted artist. Recognized as the leader in applying FM to mobile
communications due to his development of the Connecticut State Police Network,
Dr. Noble was also one of the first to recognize the revolutionary potential of
the transistor.
In 1937, while
teaching Mathematics at the University of Connecticut, he designed and
supervised construction on one of the world’s first FM broadcast stations. Then
in 1940, Paul Galvin recognized Dan’s potential as an industry innovator as
well as developer of the mobile two-way FM radio. Paul persuaded him to leave his
teaching job and join the Motorola organization.
Between the years
of 1940-1942, Dr. Noble developed the line of FM mobile and portable
communications equipment which established the new Motorola Communications
Division as the world leader in the emerging mobile communications field. Dr.
Noble led the development of the battle famous Army SCR-300 FM Walkie-Talkie.
In 1948 Dr. Noble
established a small research laboratory in Phoenix, AZ for the purpose of
leading the company in the newly developed field of solid state electronics.
The lab evolved into two separate divisions employing approximately 20,000
people. This became the headquarters of the
Semiconductor Products Sector of Motorola, and ultimately Freescale Semiconductor.
In 1978, Dr.
Noble was presented with the Edison Medal for a career of meritorious
achievements in electrical science, engineering or arts. The award came with
the following citation:
“For leadership
and innovation in meeting important public needs, especially in developing
mobile communication and solid-state electronics.”
In acceptance of
this prestigious award, Dr. Noble wrote:
“Leadership is
essential to provide innovative results, but…the leader…is only as effective as
the creative capabilities of the engineers who work with him. The engineers who
worked with me were extraordinarily capable.”
Dr. Noble, a Life
Fellow of IEEE, turned his focus successfully to the arts with work exhibited
at the Tucson Art Center, Arizona State University and the Maison de Toulouse
Midi Pyrenees in Paris. Painting under the name ELBON, his work spans an
impressive collection with titles such as “Patterns of Our Future Brainpower”,
“The Entropy Also Rises”, “It’s an Interesting Party But We Can’t Find Our
Host” and “The Investigation Committee”. Dr. Noble has distinguished himself as
an artist with twenty paintings in the collections of six universities, nine
paintings in the University of Connecticut collections and eight on permanent
display in the College of Engineering of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Dr. Noble
predicted the flood of information necessitating a need for computer aided
information systems and dynamics systems modeling in identifying leverage
points and selecting constructive forces of intervention. Remembered in his
industry among other Edison Medal winners including Alexander Graham Bell,
George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla, Dr. Daniel E. Noble was credited with
being able to predict the future, more accurately, thru his efforts, he
often went about creating it.
A special thanks to Robert D. Colburn, Research Coordinator of the IEEE History Center for his
support in researching this article. | 
