Until he was 12, Simon Ramo wanted to be a concert violinist. But after hearing the famed Jascha Heifetz, the young Ramos decided his success might be in another direction.
That direction was science. The legendary status Ramo earned in his long career in the aerospace and defense industries is testament that he made the right decision.
Ramo earned a doctorate in electrical engineering and physics from the California Institute of Technology and in 1936 joined General Electric. There, he helped develop the electron microscope.
In 1953, Ramo and Dean Everett Wooldridge formed TRW Inc. President Dwight Eisenhower asked the pair to come up with an intercontinental ballistic missile system as the Cold War ramped up. Ramo helped develop a rocket that could carry a nuclear warhead across the globe.
TRW grew to more than 100,000 employees before being bought by Northrop Grumman Corp., and Ramo is considered one of the people who helped solidify Southern California as the epicenter for U.S. high-tech weapons research.
