Catching the Wave [Back Story]

Jack Copeland and Andre A. Haeff collaborated on this month???s feature ???The True History of the Traveling- Wave Tube.??? How these two men, who have very different backgrounds and live 11,000 kilometers apart, ended up writing the article together is an interesting story in itself. Copeland [above left], a Distinguished Professor of Arts at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, developed an interest in computability theory, which eventually led him to study the history of computing, including the hardware of early electronic computers. While researching a primitive form of computer memory called the Williams tube, Copeland stumbled on a patent for another kind of computer-memory tube invented by A.V. Haeff, a name he didn???t recognize. Seeking to learn about this mysterious tube, Copeland began an investigation of Haeff???s work. ???I discovered he hadn???t just invented the memory tube???he???d invented all these other things, including the traveling-wave tube,??? says Copeland. But he pieced together very little about Haeff???s personal life until a student brought him a CD containing music by Haeff???s brother, Alexei. That in turn led Copeland to Haeff???s son, Andre, a retired physician who by good fortune had preserved his father???s papers. The collection occupies ???cubic meters, a completely pristine archive,??? Copeland says.