It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Gerald “Jerry” Burke. Burke and colleagues created the Numerical Electromagnetic Code (NEC), an antenna modeling system for wire and surface antennas. NEC’s ability to calculate currents more accurately along the antenna wires, and the junctions between them, offered a significant improvement over the Antenna Modeling Program (AMP2) that was being used at the time. NEC became a game-changer for antenna mapping. It gave the Navy insight into how a ship’s structure would affect an antenna’s performance and inform modifications to both ship and antenna designs. The result was significantly improved radar and communication systems that saved time, money and resources. A tribute to Jerry can be found here in IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine.
