Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

Uiv priiduc'tion, and also that im- proved and more extensive labora- tory facilities would be necessary to enable the research men more efTectively to devote their efforts, anil 1(1 use their talents, to assist in I he achievement of victory. Awarded Army-Navy "E" Exactly one year before Pearl JIarbor the first scouting trip re- sulted in the finding of a site for the new Laboratories near Prince- ton, New Jersey—a community conducive to creative and original thought and work. Three weeks be- fore Pearl Harbor the site had been acquired, plans, drawings and spe- cifications had been prepared, the first floors and basement were com- pleted and the cornerstone laid. Ten months later the buildings were dedicated and the Labora- tories were soon in full operation. Into them were brought the re- search staffs and facilities formerly located at the manufacturing plants at Camden and Harrison, New Jersey. Before the Princeton Labora- tories had been in operation a year they were awarded the coveted Army-Navy "E" flag to which one star has been added. The buildings already erected at Princeton represent about two- (birds of those originally planned. ICrection of the remainder of the i)uildings was prevented by the war, but it is the intention to erect them when conditions permit. They will accommodate other laboratory staffs and facilities now located at other places, as well as offices for the Patent and other departments. Every effort has been exerted to make the new Laboratories out- standing and highly creditable. To this end a location was sought which would facilitate developing an atmosphere conducive to c.-ea- tive and original thought and work in a community where men gifted with the talents essential to such work could live and rear their fam- ilies under cultural and stimulating influences. The Princeton area meets these qualifications. Further- more, it is accessible from the prin- cipal plants and offices of RCA by means of the main line of the Penn- sylvania Ptailroad and many good highways. A large tract of land was ac- quired to provide insulation from external disturbances and to permit of indefinite future expansion of the enterprise. The large tract makes possible landscaping and a setting for the buildings which will convey an impression of stability and quality intended to give ex- pression to the nature of RCA and all of its undertakings. In the fur- ther development of the project it will be given much of the character of an institution set in beautiful grounds resembling a park or campus. Influence On Work Being designed for experimental work, the Laboratories themselves are an experiment in elevating the tone of industrial enterprise. It is hoped that they will be regarded as a pattern for the establishment of decentralized units where workers can live in comfort and health and work under ideal conditions. These factois are emphasized because it is believed that they have a benefi- cial infiuence upon the important work of the Laboratories. Since the work now being done relates to military and naval activ- ities, nothing can be said at this time concerning its specific nature. Sufiice it to say that the wartime inventions added to those of the pre-war period hold promise for groat expansion of the radio art and industry in peacetime. Aids to Other Industries I'ndoubtedly, television and radio relays, and their many by-products and outgrowths made possible in large measure by the work of RCA Laboratories will prove to be the most important and most extensive of the new services and products. Television and other developments in the field of the higher frequen- cies will provide not only a vast new medium of communication, but they will also p' ovide aids to transporta- tion and travel by land, sea and air which will contribute greatly to safety, reliability and speed. Radio and electronics will revo- lutionize, improve and expedite in- numerable manufacturing process- es and provide many new and su- perior materials and products. In short, there is probably no branch of science or industry which oft'ers more promise for future develop- ment and progress than radio and electronics. Having been created to assume a position of leadership in radio, and to that end having been granted the right to use and to make available to others the radio inventions of THE PRESENT HOME OF UC\ L.^BORATORIES AT PRINCETON, N. J.; OCCUPIED IN 194^ K^-