Kasson S. Gibson, 1890 - 1979

Kasson Gibson

Appointed Assistant Instructor in Physics at Cornell University

Utica Saturday Globe, September 1912

 

Kasson Gibson

Norwich [Chenango Co., NY]:  Kasson Gibson, son of Supt. Stanford J. Gibson, of the Norwich public schools, has been appointed assistant instructor in the department of physics at Cornell University. The selection is based on scholarship and was made upon the recommendation of the head of the department, Prof. Nichols. The appointment is highly prized by graduates of Cornell, giving as it does practical experience in teaching college students, making the appointee a member of the university faculty and naturally leading to a college professorship.  Spare time may be employed in study for a master degree.  Mr. Gibson made many friends at Cornell, both among the students and the faculty, all of whom, together with his Norwich acquaintances, wish him the highest success in his chosen work.  He graduated from Norwich High School in the class of 1908 and from Cornell in the class of 1912.

______________________________________________________

 

Obituary

Evening Star, Washington, DC, January 8, 1979

 

 

Kasson S. Gibson

1890 - 1979

 

Kasson S. Gibson, 88, a former National Bureau of Standards physicist who pioneered in applying photoelectric measurement techniques in spectrophotometry, died Friday in the Rockville Nursing Home.  Early in his career at NBS, Gibson experimented on the relationship of wavelength of radiation and its effectiveness in producing light.  The curve applicable to this relationship was adopted by the Internatinal Commission on Illumination in 1924, and remains today as the basis for the scientific definition of light.  A member of the NBS staff from 1916 to 1955, Gibson was internationally known for his work in two important fields, spectrophotometry and visibility of radiant energy.  He was chief of the NBS colorimetry and spectrophotometry section from 1933 to 1941 and chief of the photometry and colorimetry section from then until his retirement in 1955.  Another important contribution was Gibson's development of an optical filter to transform radiation from an incandescent lamp to that having the spectral distribution of daylight.  During his career Gibson published more than 50 papers in NBS and other technical journals dealing with spectrophotometry, colorimetry, luminous efficience of radiation and optical filters. Detailed information regarding his work is recorded in the historical archives of the American Institute of Physics in New York.  A native of Afton, N.Y., Gibson received a doctorate in physics from Cornell University.  He leaves his wife, Mildred; a son, Gilbert, of Fairfax; and a brother, Stanford, of Norwich, N.Y.