Harold E. Edgerton

Harold E. Edgerton (1903 to 1990) was an American electrical engineer and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology whose pioneering research in stroboscopic photography was the foundation for the modern electronic speed flash. Born in Fremont, Nebraska, he graduated from the University of Nebraska and from MIT, joined MIT as a research assistant in 1927, became a professor in 1948 and was Institute professor emeritus from 1966 until his death. He won international recognition for his work in stroboscopy and ultra-high-speed photography, having perfected the use of stroboscopic lights for both ultra-high-speed motion photography and still, stop-motion photography. The electronic speed flash that grew out of his research is important to science and industry as well as to everyday photography.