Dr. James S. Albus

Dr. James S. Albus was a member of the Atherton High School Class of 1953, where he lettered in baseball and basketball and was the class pianist. He received a B.S. in Physics from Wheaton College in Illinois; an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Ohio State University; and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Jim's career began with NASA, where he worked from 1957 to 1973. He was associated with the early Vanguard satellite program, where he was responsible for the optical aspect sensors on seven satellites, more than ten sounding rockets, and over 15 NASA spacecraft.

Jim left NASA in 1973 to work at the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST), formerly known as the National Bureau of Standards. He was Chief of the Intelligent Systems Division and Senior NIST Fellow. In 2008, Jim retired after 52 years of federal service and became a Senior Fellow with the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Studies at George Mason University.

Jim received numerous awards for his work. The most prestigious was the Joseph Engelberger Award for Technology Development of Industrial Robots, which he received from the King of Sweden. Additionally Jim received seven patents, and he authored or co-authored or edited numerous books, technical papers and articles for the scientific community.

Jim loved working in his gardens with his wife Cheryl and spending time with his stepchildren and grandchildren. He loved animals and was lovingly known as “Dr. Doolittle” by family and friends.