18 Facts About Albert Hibbs

Albert Roach Hibbs was an American mathematician and physicist affiliated with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Albert Hibbs was known as "The Voice of JPL" due to his gift for explaining advanced science in simple terms.

Albert Hibbs helped establish JPL's Space Science Division in 1960 and later served as its first chief.

Albert Hibbs was the systems designer for Explorer 1, the USA's first satellite, and helped establish the framework for exploration of the Solar System through the 1960s.

Albert Hibbs earned bachelor's degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1945, having attended Caltech under the sponsorship of the US Navy's V-12 program.

Albert Hibbs then obtained a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1947.

Albert Hibbs became close friends with Feynman and together they published the textbook Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals, which is still a standard reference on the path integral formulation.

Albert Hibbs became head of JPL's Research and Analysis Section, and in this role, he was the systems designer for America's first successful satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958.

In 1960, Albert Hibbs was placed in charge of forming and leading the Space Science Division at JPL.

From 1962 to 1967, Albert Hibbs left JPL to work on special assignment as staff scientist for the Arms Control Study Group of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, studying how arms-control treaties could be monitored from space.

Albert Hibbs hosted and produced several radio and television programs for adults and children.

Albert Hibbs won a Peabody award for the children's series Exploring, as well as two Thomas Alva Edison Foundation National Media Awards.

Albert Hibbs was given NASA's Exceptional Service Medal, "for his outstanding achievements in explaining the complexities and significance of space exploration to the general public via radio and television," and the NASA Achievement Award.

Albert Hibbs had an asteroid named after him in honor of Al Albert Hibbs and his wife Marka as an acknowledgement of the role they played in introducing her to Space Science at Caltech.

Albert Hibbs was a member of the project review committee for Biosphere 2 from 1987 to 1992 and was involved in artist Tom Van Sant's Geosphere Project from 1989 to 1995 as a member of the Eyes on Earth Board of Directors.

Albert Hibbs suggested that certain repair machines might one day be reduced in size to the point that it would, in theory, be possible to "swallow the doctor".

Albert Hibbs first married in 1950, to Florence Pavin, with whom he had two children.

Albert Hibbs died in February 2003 from complications following heart surgery at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California.