Robert H. Rines

Dr. Robert H. Rines

(1922 -

Robert H. Rines is an American inventor, patent lawyer, and educator. His contributions to the technology of high resolution radar and sonar underlie a host of modern imaging systems with applications which range from missile warning to medical diagnosis.

Dr. Rines began his career as an undergraduate physics student in MIT’s Radiation Laboratory, where he developed modulation techniques which were used during World War II in the military’s secret Microwave Early Warning System. After the war he pursued a law degree at Georgetown University, eventually building a practice as an internationally recognized patent lawyer. However throughout his career he continued his research on imaging systems. He is credited with over 100 patents – most for electronic devices and techniques to improve the resolution of radar and sonar systems – work which led directly to locating the wrecks of the Titanic and the Bismarck. He has also used his imaging technology on expeditions to search for the Loch Ness monster.

Dr. Rines is the founder of the Academy of Applied Science, a private, non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of science and technology education at all levels. He also founded the Franklin Pierce Law Center, which is among the country’s foremost institutes for the study of intellectual property law. In 1994 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 2004 he received the Boston Patent Law Association’s first Lifetime Achievement Award for the many contributions he made during his 50 year career in the field of intellectual property law.