Glen P. Robinson

Lore & Background

Robinson became a ham radio operator at age 14 and started a radio repair service while a student at Georgia Tech. After serving in the Naval Signal Corps during World War II, he earned degrees in physics and worked at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In 1951, he and six other Georgia Tech researchers each contributed $100 to found Scientific Associates, later renamed Scientific Atlanta. Robinson bought out most of the original investors after the first contract lost $4,000, becoming president and CEO. The company initially focused on antennas for military use, but when it could not afford a $10,000 antenna pattern recorder, Robinson built his own, which sold to major corporations and captured 60% of the global market within eight years. Scientific Atlanta provided equipment for NASA's Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions, including the antennas that transmitted John Glenn's voice during his 1962 orbit. In the 1970s, the company supplied satellite systems to Ted Turner for his 'Super Station' and enabled the first live satellite-delivered cable event, the 'Thrilla in Manila' boxing match.

Reader's Guide

Robinson's significance lies in his role as a founder of Scientific Atlanta, which grew from a $700 investment to a company with $1.9 billion in yearly revenue by 2005. The firm pioneered satellite Earth stations and cable set-top boxes, transforming television distribution. Robinson remained CEO for 20 years and chairman for eight more, retiring in 1979. He later founded E-Tech, which developed heat pump and solar energy technology, and co-founded LaserCraft, which became the world's largest maker of LIDAR-based traffic enforcement cameras by 2006. His companies served as regional business incubators, with hundreds of firms tracing their roots to Scientific Atlanta. Robinson held at least 39 patents in solar energy and antenna systems, was named Georgia's Small Businessman of the Year in 1965, and was elected to the Georgia Technology Hall of Fame in 1993. Half of Georgia Tech's Molecular Science and Engineering Building was named the Glen P. Robinson, Jr. Tower in his honor in 2007.

Did You Know?

• Robinson built what is claimed to be the first television set in Georgia while working after hours at the Georgia Tech Research Institute.
• He bought out all but one of the original Scientific Atlanta investors, paying each back their original $100 after the first contract lost $4,000.
• Scientific Atlanta equipment transmitted John Glenn's voice during his 1962 orbit of Earth on Mercury-Atlas 6.
• Robinson held at least 39 patents, including in solar energy devices and antenna systems.