Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Litton Industries established the Litton Industries Professorship in 1992 in honor of Fred W. O’Green (BSEE ’43), who served as Litton Industries’ president and chairman in the 1970s and 1980s. The professorship supports young faculty who exhibit a potential for leadership in electrical or computer engineering research, have a recognized commitment to excellence in teaching, and share his or her talents by collaborating with industry. Assistant Professor Carolina Cruz-Neira held the inaugural Litton Industries Professorship from 1997 to 2001. She was followed by Assistant Professors Murti Salapaka (2002 to 2003), Manimaran Govindarasu (2004 to 2005), Aleksandar Dogandzic (2006 to 2007), Yong Guan (2007 to 2008), and Tien Nguyen (2008 to 2009).

After college, O’Green worked as a civilian at the Naval Ordinance Laboratories. In 1956, he went to work for Lockheed Corporation and then joined Litton Industries in 1962. While at Lockheed, O’Green was a pioneer in the U.S. space program, helping to accelerate the program after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I. He also earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland. O’Green passed away in 1998 at age 77.

Litton Industries, now owned by Northup Grumman, was founded by Charles Litton based on an invention he developed in the 1930s to mass-produce glass radio transmitting tubes. The company later specialized in developing navigational electronics, computing equipment, electronic warfare equipment, and communications systems for the military.

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