John G. Trump

John George Trump (August 21, 1907 – February 21, 1985) was an American electrical engineer, inventor, and teacher who designed high-voltage generators and pioneered their use in cancer treatment, nuclear science, and manufacturing. A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he led high-voltage research and co-founded the High Voltage Engineering Corporation, a particle accelerator manufacturer. He was the paternal uncle of President Donald Trump.

As Robert Van de Graaff's first PhD student, Trump worked on insulation technique that made Van de Graaff's generators smaller and installable at hospitals for x-ray cancer therapy. Later, he developed rotational radiation therapy, a technique to better target tumors. While treating thousands of cancer patients on MIT's campus, Trump's lab continued to improve high-voltage machinery and explore its applications in areas ranging from food sterilization to wastewater treatment.

During World War II, Trump played a major role in delivering radar equipment to allied forces through the MIT's Radiation Laboratory, the war's largest civilian science enterprise. In 1940, he joined the newly formed National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) as an aide to MIT President Karl Compton. Trump helped organize the Rad Lab and became one of its leaders while serving as the NDRC's division secretary for radar. In the last year of the war, he directed the lab's European branches, where he organized radar deployments for D-Day operations and advised American field generals on radar use in the campaign to free Europe from Nazi control.

After the war, Trump assembled a team to found the High Voltage Engineering Corporation (HVEC) and became its first chairman. The company used Van de Graaff and Trump's patents to build compact generators for cancer clinics and manufacturers, then built a line of larger particle accelerators for nuclear science laboratories. HVEC became the first success of the American Research and Development Corporation, the first modern venture capital fund.

President Ronald Reagan awarded Trump the National Medal of Science in Engineering Sciences in 1983 for his work applying radiation to medicine, industry, and nuclear physics. He received war service commendations from both President Harry Truman and King George VI. Many of his contributions remain in use: Trump installed the original Van de Graaff generator at Boston Museum of Science and many of his company's machines remain active in physics laboratories worldwide.