Woznation

As most of you know, we are getting ready to move from New Jersey to Baltimore. We are moving because the research lab I work in is relocating and Friday was my last day, ever. They are completely shutting down the base and transferring the land to the county. I have been so incredibly busy trying to wrap things  up in NJ while keeping things running in Baltimore (plus the whole ‘baby’ incident) it didn’t really hit me that Friday was my last day at the Fort… ever.

This my sounds like hyperbole but it really is the end of an era. A whole lot of amazing science/technology was developed at Fort Monmouth and at my building (McAfee Center in the picture above) in particular. The McAfee Center’s namesake, Walter Samuel McAfee was an African American mathematician and scientist who first calculated the speed of the moon relative to earth. At the time, when the official announcement of this scientific breakthrough was made it only mentioned Dr. McAfee’s white colleges. Dr. McAfee was an integral part of Project Diana (intellectual forerunner of NRL’s Moonbounce program) which proved it was possible for radio waves to exit the ionosphere, bounce off the moon, re-enter the ionosphere, and be received at a monitoring station. This project is considered the birth of the US space program and fields of study such as radio and radar astronomy. This was the first time the human race had purposefully ‘touched’ another celestial body. I could bore you (even more) with the technical details but I won’t, just trust me, the project was amazing.

I consider Project Diana to be the most interesting and advanced thing to come out of Fort Monmouth. However, other scientific breakthroughs and projects developed at the Fort include:

• Major Edwin H. Armstrong developed frequency modulated (FM) wireless communication here. This is the same theory the radio in your car operates on.
• Developed the first radio equipped weather balloon which led to the first air to ground wireless communications
• In 1949 Fort Monmouth housed the 1st Pigeon Breeding and Training Center. Hundreds of these pigeons went on to serve with distinction in WWII and Korea . I swear this is a real thing, I have been told this book does a good job of telling the story.
• In the 1950’s and 1960’s various night vision technologies were developed here which enabled US forces to operate 24/7 in Vietnam.
• Counter IED and counter mortar technologies (This is what I currently work on).

Overall, Fort Monmouth was a great experience and the history of the place is amazing. I cannot believe our congressman let the base shut down, especially since he has an advanced degree in science. The only member of congress who is a rocket scientist. Anyway, the family is looking forward to starting a new chapter in Baltimore. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, moving out of Jersey will stop people from asking us if we know Snookie.