Robert Colburn

Robert Colburn is research coordinator at the IEEE History Center. For more articles by History Center staff, visit their publications page. The IEEE History Center is partially funded by donations to the History Fund of the IEEE Foundation.

History Column

Robert Colburn2 August 2024
1,335

Over and Under: A Brief History of Why Electric Power Lines Can’t Easily Be Placed Underground

The reasons why electric power distribution lines haven't been placed underground and out of sight is a complex one.
History Column

Robert Colburn21 August 2023
1,056

Tugboat Technology

Maneuvering tankers weighing as much as 200,000 tons, with variable factors, takes enormous precision and skill…and a lot of tugboat…
History Column

Robert Colburn3 August 2022
311

“No Clear Substitutes”: Supply Chain Interruptions and How Engineers Approached Them in the Past

These IEEE History Center oral histories emphasized that supply chains are about people as much as they are about materials.
History Column

Robert Colburn4 August 2021
4,653

Why Mobile Phones Can Do So Many Things: The Invention of The Fractal Antenna

Today’s mobile phones and countless other technologies owe their sleek design in part to antennas whose shapes are determined by…
History Column

Robert Colburn15 July 2019
152

A Master Class in Ingenuity

On the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, IEEE Members share their memories of creating the technologies used in space.