Paul W. Kruse (1927-2012), In Memoriam

During his distinguished 37-year career as a research physicist at the Honeywell Research Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dr. Paul W. Kruse (1927-2012) played leadership roles in two disruptive infrared detector technologies, the narrow-gap semiconductor alloy HgCdTe and the silicon CMOS-based microbolometer array, both of which revolutionized the worldwide infrared detector industry. He served on numerous government advisory boards and panels, including the Army Scientific Advisory Panel and the Army Science Board, for which he received the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal. After retiring for Honeywell in 1993, he remained active in the infrared detector field in several roles: as a successful small-business entrepreneur, as an author of two books, and as a SPIE lecturer. His books, papers and lectures have educated new generations of workers in the infrared detector industry. His career, a model for industrial research physicists, has had major and permanent impacts on the worldwide infrared detector industry. This paper is a summary of the career of Paul W. Kruse, as well as a tribute to that career and its lasting legacy.