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John R. Pierce)
John Robinson Pierce (March 27, 1910 - April 2, 2002), was an American engineer and author. He worked extensively in the fields of radio communication, computer music, and science fiction. Born in Iowa, he earned his Ph.D. from Caltech, and died in California.
A colleague of Claude Shannon at Bell Labs, he wrote on information theory and developed jointly the concept of Pulse code modulation. At the request of another colleague, Walter Brattain, he also coined the term transistor. He did significant research into satellites, including a leadership role in the development of the first commercial communications satellite, Telstar 1. He was also prominent in the research of computer music, as Visiting Professor of Music, Emeritus at Stanford's CCRMA (along with John Chowning and Max Mathews).
Besides many technical books, Pierce wrote much science fiction under the pseudonym J.J. Coupling. He seems to have been a firm believer in the connection between literary imagination and practical innovation.