Bowen, Edward (1911-1991), a British radiophysicist, was part of the team that developed radar. Later, he pioneered radio astronomy in Australia.
Edward George Bowen studied under the English physicist Sir Edward Appleton at London University. In 1935, Bowen joined the Scottish engineer Sir Robert Watson-Watt in developing radar as a warning system. He later headed the group that designed airborne radar systems to detect other aircraft and submarines. From 1940 to 1943, Bowen lived in the United States, where he worked with other scientists to develop radar. He moved to Australia in 1944.
From 1946 to 1971, Bowen was chief of the division of radiophysics of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). This group pioneered the science of radio astronomy. Bowen was largely responsible for building the huge radio telescope at Parkes in New South Wales. The telescope opened in 1961 and became the first radio telescope to detect the existence of quasars, extremely bright objects in the center of some distant galaxies.
Bowen was born on Jan. 14, 1911, in Swansea, Wales. He died on Aug. 12, 1991.
