The Bridge - Issue 1, 2022 - 5

In Memoriam
In Memoriam: Dr. Richard Gowen
HKN Eminent Member 2002, HKN President 1998-2000
and IEEE President 1984
Richard (Dick) Gowen, 1984 IEEE President and
1998-2000 HKN President, died on 12 November at
the age of 86. Dick, an HKN Eminent Member, was
instrumental in the 2010 merger of HKN and IEEE and
left an indelible mark on the organization. In addition
to HKN President, Dick served as Vice President in
1997, HKN West Central Region Governor from 1995
to 1997 and chaired the Eminent Member Committee
after he was awarded the designation in 2002.
At the time of death, he was president and CEO of
Dakota Power, a company in Rapid City, S.D., that
develops lightweight electric drive systems for military
and civilian use.
Gowen was born in New Brunswick, N.J., and
received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering
in 1957 from Rutgers University. While at Rutgers,
he participated in the school's ROTC.
After graduating, he joined RCA Laboratories in
Princeton, N.J., as a researcher but was called to active
duty by the U.S. Air Force. He was a communications
electronics officer at Yaak Air Force Station, in Montana.
While there, he joined the electrical engineering faculty
at the Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, CO.
Sponsored by the Academy, he did his postgraduate
studies at Iowa State University, in Ames, earning a
master's degree in electrical engineering in 1959 and a
Ph.D. in biomedical engineering in 1962.
For his doctoral research, he developed an engineering
model of the cardiovascular system. His project led to
the development of a device worn on a person's finger
that measures blood pressure during physical exercise.
He was granted his first U.S. patent for the technology.
In 1966, he was selected to be an astronaut in NASA's
Apollo 1 program but withdrew after suffering a back
injury that left him unable to walk. Surgery restored his
ability to walk, and he returned to the Academy.
In addition to
teaching, he led a
research team to
develop technology
that could help NASA
study the effects of
weightlessness on astronauts' cardiovascular systems.
Gowen's research led to the development of the lower
body negative pressure device, which can vary the
transfer of fluids from the upper body to the lower
body. The device is now on display in Washington, D.C.,
at the Smithsonian National Space and Air Museum.
Gowen served as a consultant for the U.S. Department
of Defense while at the Academy. He retired in 1977
with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
He then became vice president and dean of
engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and
Technology in Rapid City, and then served as president
of Dakota State College, now Dakota State University, in
Madison, S.D. He later returned to South Dakota Mines
as its president. Under his leadership, engineering
programs were created, and graduate research projects
were expanded. He also increased the number of
projects conducted in collaboration with NASA and
the U.S. military.
After he retired from the school in 2003, he was
appointed as a member of the South Dakota
Department of Education. In that role, he was active in
encouraging more Native Americans to pursue careers
in science, technology, engineering, and math.
After retiring, he led the conversion of the Homestake
gold mine, in Lead, S.D., into a scientific laboratory
in 2003 at the request of the U.S. National Science
Foundation. The Deep Underground Science and
Engineering Laboratory opened in 2009.
Before his death, Dick and his wife, Nancy, made a generous gift to IEEE-HKN to help the Society reconnect
with and engage HKN Alumni to build the organization. A series of Alumni Receptions will debut this year, a
direct result of this gift. If you would like to make a gift to IEEE-HKN in Dick's memory, please follow this link to
the IEEE Foundation page and choose the Eta Kappa Nu fund from the dropdown menu.
Editors Note: Sections of this article originally appeared in The Institute
HKN.ORG
5

https://www.ieeefoundation.org/gowen https://hkn.ieee.org/

The Bridge - Issue 1, 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Bridge - Issue 1, 2022