In 1984, I was just a greenhorn sales rep working for NCR Corporation’s “new technology” group. Our mission? To sell those strange new beasts known as IBM-compatible personal computers—and even more shockingly, the first commercial systems running UNIX. Yes, NCR, the cash register company, was an early UNIX trailblazer. Who knew?
As part of my “assignment,” I was to visit every department at MIT and talk to each department head about their computing needs for the upcoming year. (A task clearly given by someone who had never tried navigating MIT’s labyrinth of intellects.) One afternoon, I found myself in the office of a man I didn’t recognize—Dr. Harold Edgerton.
He greeted me with the good-natured mischief of someone who had seen a hundred like me walk through his door. I asked about his computer needs. He laughed, waved the question off, and invited me to see his lab. What followed was several unforgettable hours.
He showed me experiments involving high-speed photography—shots of bullets slicing through apples, milk droplets forming coronets, and the magic of frozen motion. At the end of the visit, he handed me a postcard showing one of his most iconic images: a .30 caliber bullet passing through an apple, captured with a flash exposure of less than a millionth of a second.
To this day, I kick myself for not asking him to autograph it.
After the lab tour, we stepped into the hallway where the walls told the story of his life: friend to Jacques Cousteau, inventor of SONAR, professor at MIT, and a scientific showman who once relieved himself into the Charles River mid-sail just to make a point. Equal parts genius, teacher, and humorist.
I didn’t walk out with a computer sale, but I walked out with one of the best memories of my life.
Who Was Dr. Harold Edgerton?
Harold “Doc” Edgerton (1903–1990) was a legendary electrical engineer, MIT professor, and photographer best known for pioneering stroboscopic photography. Born in Nebraska, he went on to revolutionize how we see motion.
Here are a few of his most remarkable accomplishments:
- 📸 Inventor of the Electronic Flash: His high-speed strobe light allowed for ultra-fast photography, capturing moments too quick for the human eye.
- 🍎 The Apple and Bullet: One of the most iconic high-speed photographs ever taken, showing a bullet piercing an apple mid-flight.
- 🌊 Inventor of Side-Scan SONAR: He developed technologies that helped map the ocean floor—vital to undersea exploration and naval applications.
- 🐠 Collaborator with Jacques Cousteau: Edgerton provided photographic and sonar equipment that aided in Cousteau’s groundbreaking underwater documentaries.
- 🎓 Beloved MIT Professor: Known for his energetic teaching style, showmanship, and humility. His students adored him—not just for his brilliance, but his generosity.
He was a man who made science visual and visceral. He didn’t just measure time—he stopped it, and showed it to the rest of us.
