Samuel Ruben Papers
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Abstract
Samuel Ruben was born in 1900. He was an American inventor who made lasting contributions to the fields of electrochemistry and solid-state technology. While he dropped out of college and had no formal education, his scientific career spanned over 60 years. Ruben worked extensively with the Duracell Company and is credited with revolutionizing battery technology. In 1967, Ruben endowed a scholarship for Polytechnic students. In April 1979, he was inducted as a Fellow of Polytechnic Institute of New York. An exhibition of his inventions was displayed to mark the occasion.
Biographical / Historical
Samuel Ruben was born on 14 July 1900 in Harrison, New Jersey. He was an American inventor who made lasting contributions to the fields of electrochemistry and solid-state technology. While he dropped out of college and had no formal education, his scientific career spanned over 60 years. Ruben produced over 300 patents, many of which were developed at Ruben Laboratories in New Rochelle, which he founded. Ruben held honorary degrees from Polytechnic Institute of New York (where he was also an honorary Professor), Butler University, and Columbia University.
In the 1920's, Ruben's dry electrolytic capacitors made possible the first low-cost plug-in radios with greater durability, significantly longer shelf life, and longer operating lifetime. Ruben's improvement to the AC Vacuum Tube shortened the warm-up time and extended the lifetime of the product. This technology was used in the Boulder Dam generators, among others. The Photolytic Cell was capable of noise-free response to audio frequencies. The Ruben Vacuum Tube Relay responded to audio and radio frequencies and found application in various remote-controlled devices, such as railway signal systems, telephone relay circuits, and general call systems. Other inventions include the Glass Mesh Fluorescent Tube, a portable gamma detector, and a device that was commercially applied to phonographs which created an improved low frequency response.
The licensee of many of his inventions was P.R. Mallory Company, which later became Duracell. Ruben and Philip Rogers Mallory invented the mercury button cell in 1942 in response to an urgent need created during World War II for a miniature battery that would not deteriorate in tropical climates and would be capable of maintaining voltage on loads and retaining transmission range. The sealed alkaline cell made possible the miniature batteries used in implanted cardiac pacemakers, hearing aids, watches, cameras, transistor radios and other electronic devices. He died on 16 July 1988 in Oregon.
Sources: Fowler, Glenn (20 July 1988). "Samuel Ruben, 88, an Inventor Noted for Electrochemical Work". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
Arrangement
Series I contains 162 of Ruben's patents approved by the United State Patents and Trademark Office. Serices II contains documents relating to the exhibition held in honor of Ruben's induction as a Fellow of Polytechnic Institute of New York. Series III contains coorespondence and articles relating to the endowed scholarship gift by Ruben. Series IV contains articles written about Ruben and his work.
Scope and Contents
The collection includes patents (1928-1976) and materials relating to Ruben's induction as a Fellow of the Polytechnic Institute of New York (1975-1979). Forty of Ruben's inventions were displayed in an exhibition commemorating this event. Supporting materials provide information about each object and include documents, literature (1923-1978), correspondence (1975-1979), photographs, and realia. The collection also includes documents relating to the endowed scholarship Ruben left to Polytechnic in 1967. The scholarships were to be awarded to two undergraduate students per year studying chemical engineering. Finally, the collection contains a small number of articles written about Ruben and his work.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open for research without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from:
Poly Archives & Special Collections Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology 5 MetroTech Center Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: (718) 260-3943 Fax: (718) 260-3756 E-mail: archives@library.poly.edu
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Samuel Ruben Papers; RG 015; box number; folder number or item identifier; Poly Archives at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, New York University.
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Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials found in collection; there is no documentation concerning the provenance of these materials.