[pianotech] Dr Sanderson

[John Formsma]

I didn't know about his other achievements.  And a Harvard guy, too.  What a
fascinating man!

--
JF

On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 12:11 AM, tom <tomtuner at verizon.net> wrote:

>  List,
>
>    As many of you know, Dr Sanderson passed last week.
>
> The great ones among us never run out of inspiration and
> accomplishment-----they just run out of time.
>
> Tom D.
>
>             >From the Boston Globe:
>
>            Albert E. Sanderson, a Harvard instructor whose piano-tuning
> device changed the art 30 years ago, spent the last decade trying to develop
> a vehicle motor capable of delivering 100 miles per gallon, according to his
> company and family.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "We're on the threshold of a dream, and the sad thing is he didn't get to
> see it" fully realized, said his son, David of Concord.
>
> Mr. Sanderson, who invented the Sanderson Engine and the Sanderson Pump
> with his brother Robert, died of cancer Sunday at Concord Park in West
> Concord. He was 80 and had lived in Carlisle most of his life.
>
> He held many patents, including eight for his Accu-Tuner for pianos and
> eight related to the engine and hydraulic pump, which he dubbed "the engine
> of the future."
>
> In 2001, Mr. Sanderson and his brother Robert of Denton, Texas, launched
> Sanderson Engine Development LLC of Upton after Mr. Sanderson's insights at
> age 70 led them to create what his family described as a highly efficient
> motor.
>
> Eight prototypes have been made, and the mechanisms were recently tested at
> the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
>
> "That's what kept the spark in my father's eye in these last years," said
> his son Paul of Westford.
>
> Born in Bethlehem, Pa., Mr. Sanderson was the eldest of three brothers. His
> father was an engineer for Bethlehem Steel before moving to Boston, where he
> became a professor at Northeastern University.
>
> Mr. Sanderson met his wife, Mary (McGettigan), in the first grade in
> Wayland public schools. She was in the second grade. He completed the
> coursework for both first and second grades and advanced to the third grade
> with Mary, according to his sons. They were married for 59 years.
>
> He earned his bachelor's degree in 1949 and his master's degree in
> engineering and physics in 1950, all from Harvard, before working as an
> electronics engineer for Aircraft Radio Corp. in New Jersey and General
> Radio Co. of Concord.
>
> From 1960 to 1973, he was director of the Harvard Electronics Design
> Center, which made custom instruments for Harvard research departments. He
> also taught engineering and physics at Harvard for eight years.
>
>
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