Paul E. Gray

American university president (1932–2017)

Paul E. Gray

14th President of
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
In office
July 1, 1980 – October 15, 1990
Preceded by| Jerome Wiesner
Succeeded by| Charles Vest
2nd Chancellor of
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
In office
1971–1980
President| Jerome Wiesner
Preceded by| Julius A. Stratton
Succeeded by| Lawrence S. Bacow
Personal details
Born|

Paul Edward Gray

(1932-02-07)February 7, 1932
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died| September 18, 2017(2017-09-18) (aged 85)
Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, MS, DSc)
Profession| Electrical engineering
Awards|

* IEEE Fellow (1972)
* IEEE Founders Medal (2010)

Scientific career
Fields| Electrical engineering
Institutions| Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thesis| The dynamic behavior of thermoelectric devices (1960)

Paul Edward Gray (February 7, 1932 – September 18, 2017) was the 14th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is known for his accomplishments in promoting engineering education, practice, and leadership at MIT and in the world at large.[1]

## Early life and education

[edit]

Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1932, Gray graduated from MIT in 1954 with a SB in electrical engineering, and was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. He subsequently obtained an SM and ScD from MIT in 1955 and 1960, both in electrical engineering,[2] and served as an electronics instructor in the US Army from 1955 to 1957.

## Massachusetts Institute of Technology

[edit]

As an MIT professor, Gray specialized in researching and teaching semiconductor electronics and circuit theory. In 1969, he co-authored Electronic principles: Physics, models, and circuits, which became a standard textbook on fundamental principles of solid-state electronics technology.[3]

Gray rapidly rose through the MIT administration, serving as associate dean for student affairs (1965–1967), associate provost (1969–1970), and then dean of the School of Engineering (1970–1971). Under MIT president Jerome Wiesner, Gray served as chancellor (1971–1980). From 1980 to 1990, he served as president of MIT, and then as chairman of the MIT Corporation (1990–1997).

At MIT, Gray is credited with helping to establish the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), the Leaders for Manufacturing program, and the ongoing affiliation with the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. He led the Task Force on Educational Opportunity (1968–1973), and encouraged undergraduate curriculum reforms in the 1980s that strengthened the humanities, social sciences, and biology.[3] He broadened MIT's traditional engineering programs to also encourage development of management skills.[1]

In 1982, Gray became an inaugural member of Ronald Reagan's White House Science Council, where he served for four years.[4] He was a member of the Council's Panel on the Health of Universities, and was also vice chairman of the Council on Competitiveness.[3]

After retiring from chairmanship of MIT, Gray returned to teaching and advising undergraduate students. He was a professor of electrical engineering and president emeritus of MIT, and a life fellow of the IEEE.[1]

Gray died on September 18, 2017, in Concord, Massachusetts, from complications of Alzheimer's disease.[5]

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Gray, Paul E. (1960). The Dynamic Behavior of Thermoelectric Devices. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ASIN B01IL7SQDQ.
* Gray, Paul E. (1967). Introduction to Electronics. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0471323204.
* Gray, Paul E.; Searle, Campbell L. (1970). Electronic Principles: Physics, Models and Circuits. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0471324003.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Paul E. Gray". Engineering and Technology History Wiki. IEEE. 18 September 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
2. ^ Gray, Paul Edward (1960). The dynamic behavior of thermoelectric devices (Ph.D.). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. OCLC 32806203. ProQuest 301852069.
3. ^ a b c "Paul Edward Gray, 1932–". Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
4. ^ Reinhold, Robert (February 18, 1982). "13 Experts Named to Counsel Reagan's Advisor for Science". The New York Times.
5. ^ Wren, Kathy (September 18, 2017). "Former MIT President Paul Gray dies at 85 after lifelong career of service and leadership at the Institute". MIT News.

Academic offices

Vacant

Title last held by

Julius A. Stratton | 2nd Chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1971 – 1980  | Vacant

Title next held by

Lawrence S. Bacow
Preceded by

Jerome Wiesner

| 14th President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1980 – 1990  | Succeeded by

Charles Vest

* v
* t
* e

IEEE Founders Medal

1953–1975|

* David Sarnoff (1953)
* Alfred Norton Goldsmith (1954)
* No award (1955)
* No award (1956)
* Raymond A. Heising (1957)
* Walter Ransom Gail Baker (1958)
* No award (1959)
* Haraden Pratt (1960)
* Ralph Bown (1961)
* No award (1962)
* Frederick Terman (1963)
* Andrew McNaughton (1964)
* No award (1965)
* Elmer William Engstrom (1966)
* Harvey Fletcher (1967)
* Patrick E. Haggerty (1968)
* E. Finley Carter (1969)
* Morris D. Hooven (1970)
* Ernst Weber (1971)
* Masaru Ibuka (1972)
* Bill Hewlett and David Packard (1973)
* Lawrence A. Hyland (1974)
* John G. Brainerd (1975)

1976–2000|

* Edward W. Herold (1976)
* Jerome Wiesner (1977)
* Donald G. Fink (1978)
* Hanzo Omi (1979)
* Simon Ramo (1980)
* James Hillier (1981)
* Shigeru Yonezawa (1982)
* Joseph M. Pettit (1983)
* Koji Kobayashi (1984)
* William Norris (1985)
* George H. Heilmeier (1986)
* James B. Owens (1987)
* Ian Munro Ross (1988)
* Ivan A. Getting (1989)
* Erich Bloch (1990)
* Irwin Dorros (1991)
* Roland W. Schmitt (1992)
* Ken Olsen (1993)
* Akio Morita (1994)
* Malcolm R. Currie (1995)
* Norman R. Augustine (1996)
* Gordon Moore (1997)
* Alan W. Rudge (1998)
* Benjamin M. Rosen (1999)
* Bob Galvin (2000)

2001–present|

* Robert A. Frosch (2001)
* Thomas Eugene Everhart (2002)
* Ray Stata (2003)
* Mildred Dresselhaus (2004)
* Eugene Wong (2005)
* Toshiharu Aoki (2006)
* Anita K. Jones (2007)
* Steven Sample (2008)
* Craig Barrett (2009)
* Paul E. Gray (2010)
* James F. Gibbons (2011)
* F. C. Kohli (2012)
* Leo Beranek (2013)
* Eric Schmidt (2014)
* James Plummer (2015)
* No award (2016)
* Takeo Kanade (2017)
* N. R. Narayana Murthy (2018)
* Robin Saxby (2019)
* Jen-Hsun Huang (2020)
* Henry Samueli (2021)
* John Brooks Slaughter (2022)
* Rodney Brooks (2023)
* Tsu-Jae King Liu (2024)
* Mung Chiang (2025)

* v
* t
* e

Presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

* William Barton Rogers (1862)
* John Daniel Runkle (1870)
* William Barton Rogers (1879)
* Francis Amasa Walker (1881)
* James Crafts (1897)
* Henry Smith Pritchett (1900)
* Arthur Amos Noyes # (1907)
* Richard Cockburn Maclaurin (1909)
* Elihu Thomson # (1920)
* Ernest Fox Nichols (1921)
* Elihu Thomson # (1922)
* Samuel Wesley Stratton (1923)
* Karl Taylor Compton (1930)
* James Rhyne Killian (1948)
* Julius Adams Stratton (1959)
* Howard Wesley Johnson (1966)
* Jerome Wiesner (1971)
* Paul E. Gray (1980)
* Charles M. Vest (1990)
* Susan Hockfield (2004)
* L. Rafael Reif (2012)
* Sally Kornbluth (2023)

Key: # denotes acting president

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