19 January: Tribute to Hidetsugu Yagi

OV Digital Desk
2 Min Read

Image Courtesy: Google Doodle

Hidetsugu Yagi (28 January 1886 – 19 January 1976) was a Japanese electrical engineer from Osaka, Japan. When working at Tohoku Imperial University, he wrote several articles that introduced a new antenna designed by his assistant Shintaro Uda to the English-speaking world. Because of the Yagi antenna, radios and televisions can receive stronger signals from a specific direction, which helps avoid interference from surrounding signals.

Life and Career

He was born on 28 January 1886 and graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1895 with a degree in electrical engineering. After graduation, he worked as a professor at the university, where he conducted research on wireless communication and antenna design. In 1926, he and a colleague, Shintaro Uda, published a paper describing the Yagi antenna, which quickly became widely used in radio communication systems. Yagi received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the Japan Academy Prize in 1935.

He died on 19 January 1976.

Award and Legacy

Hidetsugu Yagi was a Japanese electrical engineer and inventor who is best known for his development of the Yagi antenna, which is widely used in radio and television broadcasting. He received many awards for his work, including the IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award in 1950, and the IEEE Edison Medal in 1962. His invention has had a significant impact on the field of telecommunications and is still widely used today in both commercial and consumer applications. His legacy continues in the form of the Yagi-Uda antenna, named after him and his co-inventor Shintaro Uda. The antenna is widely used in wireless communications and is a fundamental component in many wireless devices such as televisions and mobile phones.

On 28 January 2016, Google Doodle celebrated Hidetsugu Yagi’s 130th Birthday.

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