In Memoriam
The SETI League is saddened to announce the death of our dear friend Allen Katz, K2UYH. A pioneer in EME (moonbounce) microwave communications, Al and his 18 foot diameter Kennedy parabolic dish antenna participated in The SETI League's Project Argus all-sky survey from its inception. A close personal friend and colleague to our Executive Director, Al served for two decades as Chairman of our EME committee.
A licensed Radio Amateur since 1956, Al was most active in VHF and Microwave operation. One of his primary research interests was Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) propagation - the use of the Moon as a passive reflector for extended range microwave communications. His task as SETI League EME Chair was to help members use signals reflected off the lunar surface to validate and calibrate their SETI receiving systems. Dr. Katz served for 54 years as a professor of Electrical Engineering at The College of New Jersey. He had more than 40 years of experience in the microwave and satellite industries. His work spanned the frequency range from UHF through Ka-band and involved both hybrid, MMIC and photonic circuits including the design of the first practical MMIC linearizer. He held numerous patents and authored dozens of technical publications.
Al was founder and President of Linearizer Technology, Inc. He received the ARRL Technical Merit Award in 1976, the John Chambers Award in 1982, an IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984, the GE ASD Technical Excellence Award in 1990, the IEEE Region I Achievement Award in 1992 and the Martin Marietta Astro Inventor of the year award in 1993.
Katz was a Fellow of IEEE and its Microwave Theory and Techniques (MTT) Society, and a member of the MTT Technical Program Committee. He is the 2002 recipient of the American Astronomical Society's Randolph Lovelace II Award. His citation reads: "This award recognizes your technical leadership and contribution to significantly increase satellite communications payload performance through the development of microwave linearizer technology."
Allen Katz was a SETI League Charter Member. We regret that his legendary parabolic dish has now gone silent. He passed away peacefully in West Windsor, NJ, on June 20th, 2024, at the age of 81, surrounded by Sally, his beloved wife of 55.9672 years, and daughters Alisha and Tova.
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