George Edward Alcorn, Jr. (In History) - March 22, 1940 – Present

George Edward Alcorn, Jr. received a four-year academic scholarship to Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. Dr. Alcorn earned a Master of Science in Nuclear Physics in 1963, and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Atomic and Molecular Physics in 1967, both from Howard University. Alcorn worked as a research engineer for the Space Division of North American Rockwell, computing trajectories and orbital mechanics for missiles during the summers of 1962 and 1963. Alcorn spent twelve years in industry. He was senior scientist at Philco-Ford, senior physicist at Perker-Elmer, and advisory engineer at IBM Corporation. After joining NASA in 1978, Alcorn invented an imaging x-ray spectrometer using thermomigration of aluminum, for which he earned a patent in 1984 and was awarded the NASA/GSFC Inventor of the Year Award. Two years later he devised an improved method of fabrication using laser drilling. In addition to his current work with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Dr. Alcorn is involved in academics, and community service.

Sites referencing Dr. George Edward Alcorn:
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/physics/alcorn_georgeE.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbennett.htm#Alcorn
http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/alcorn.html