Thomas Poulter Explained

Thomas Poulter
Birth Date:3 March 1897
Birth Place:Salem, Iowa
Death Place:Menlo Park, California
Education:Iowa Wesleyan College (BS)
University of Chicago (PhD)
Workplaces:
Known For:Antarctic exploration

Thomas Charles Poulter (March 3, 1897  - June 4, 1978) was an American scientist and antarctic explorer who worked at the Armour Institute of Technology and SRI International, where he was an associate director.[1]

Early career

Poulter taught physics while attending high school (1914-1918), joined the U.S. Navy in 1918 and returned to school in 1921. Poulter received his B.S. from Iowa Wesleyan College (IWC) in 1923; took a position as head of the chemistry division at IWC (1925); and served as head of the math, physics and astronomy divisions with "great creativity and much success" while attending graduate school at the University of Chicago (Ph. D., 1933).[2]

While he was a physics professor at IWS he recognized James Van Allen as a student and put him to work, at 35 cents an hour, preparing seismic and magnetic equipment for the Antarctic Expedition.[3]

He was second in command on the Second Byrd Antarctic Mission to the South Pole with Richard E. Byrd. The Poulter Glacier was named after him by Admiral Byrd.[2] [4] Byrd credited him with saving his life as the expedition leader approached death from carbon monoxide poisoning.[5]

After his first expedition he became the scientific director of the Armour Research Foundation at the Armour Institute of Technology (later Illinois Institute of Technology) where he developed the Antarctic Snow Cruiser (a.k.a. "Penguin 1").[6] This device was built for and taken along on his second expedition with Admiral Byrd in 1939.

Later career

In 1948 he joined the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park, California, where he remained until his death in 1978. While at SRI he did research involving dynamic phenomena including explosives, weather and eventually Biosonar.[6] [7] Poulter devised seismic pattern shooting in the 1950s, and according to W. Harry Mayne, Poulter's "method called for a pattern of explosive charges to be mounted on poles (usually 5-6 ft above the surface of the ground, which prevented any significant environmental damage)."[8] He became interested in seals after visiting the elephant seal colony at Año Nuevo Island off the coast of California in 1961. The seal colony there included elephant seals, sea lions harbor seals and many others. He began studying the seal colonies in 1962 and was active in having the island protected as a biological preserve in 1967.

The Poulter Laboratory at SRI International was named after him. After he retired from managing Poulter Labs he founded the Bio Sonar Lab and Marine Mammal Study Center for SRI in the Coyote Hills outside of Fremont CA.[9] There he did research on a number of marine mammals. He was fond of them as he described in a "Note" for the Arctic.[10]

He died on June 4, 1978, in Menlo Park, California, while working in his laboratory.

Publications

Notes and References

  1. Book: Nielson, Donald . A Heritage of Innovation: SRI's First Half Century . . 2006 . 978-0-9745208-1-0 . . 11–2–11–4.
  2. Book: Poulter, Thomas. 1977. Over the years. Menlo Park, California. Stanford Research Institute.
  3. News: New York Times. James A. Van Allen, Discoverer of Earth-Circling Radiation Belts, Is Dead at 91. Walter. Sullivan. 2006-08-10. 2012-04-08.
  4. Into Little America documentary film (1935)
  5. Book: Byrd, Richard Evelyn. Alone. registration. 1986 . 295. J.P. Tarcher . 978-0-87477-388-0 .
  6. Book: Mills, William James. Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. 2003. 1-57607-422-6.
  7. Web site: Thomas C. Poulter. History for Sale. 2012-02-23.
  8. Book: Mayne . W. Harry . 50 Years of Geophysical Ideas . 1989 . Society of Exploration Geophysicists . Tulsa . 0931830737 . 27.
  9. Web site: Thos. C. Poulter. SRI International. 2012-02-11.
  10. The affectionate walrus. Thomas. Poulter. Arctic. 22. 4. December 1969. 438. 10.14430/arctic3234 . free.

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