Leith, Emmett N.

University of Michigan professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

From the description of Emmett N. Leith photograph. 1960s. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 45056905

B.S. (physics), Wayne State University; M.S. (physics), Wayne State University; Ph.D. (electrical engineering), Wayne State University. Radar Laboratory of the University of Michigan's Willow Run Laboratory. Research interests: holography.

From the description of Oral history interview with Emmett N. Leith, 22 January 2003. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 154305940

University of Michigan professor of electrical engineering and computer science, born 1927. Leith was noted for his work with practical holography (lensless three-dimensional photography).

From the description of Emmett N. Leith papers, 1960s-1990s. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 83428515

Emmett Leith was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 12th, 1927. He received his bachelors (1950) and masters (1952) in physics from Wayne State University before beginning work as a Research Associate at the University of Michigan-affiliated Willow Run Laboratories in 1954. Through his research on side-along-radar (SAR) and with the assistance of Juris Upatnieks he was able to revive the long forgotten field of holography. Holography was originally developed by Dennis Gabor in 1947. However Gabor's process was hindered by a twin image and his research was eventually abandoned. In 1963 Leith and Upatnieks where able to eliminate the twin image and, with the assistance of the newly available laser, able to create stunning three dimensional images.

Leith continued to research in the field of holography and eventually focused much of his time on applying holography to imaging through biological tissue. Leith was a prolific writer who wrote for a variety of journals. In addition to his research in holography Leith became a spokesman for the field and was often asked to speak and write on the field of holography as a whole in addition to his own work.

Leith became an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering in 1963, a full professor in 1966, and the Schlumberger Professor of Engineering in 1981. He was well regarded by his students as an excellent teacher with a profound love for the subjects he taught and dedication to his students. Leith died on December 23, 2005, at the age of 78, just before his retirement was to become effective at the end of the year.

From the guide to the Emmett N. Leith papers, 1954-2005, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)