The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Hansen, William Webster
1909–49, U.S. physicist, b. Fresno, Calif. Hansen received his doctorate in physics from Stanford in 1933 and joined the faculty there in 1934. He invented the high-quality cavity resonator on which the linear electron accelerator depends. During World War II he worked in New York on defense applications of physics and electronics, including radar. He is considered a founder of the field of microwave electronics.
