David Sarnoff Research Center

Former RCA Laboratories, November 2020. The original portion of the building is the central portion.

Historical Overview

A research & development complex sprawls across hundreds of acres at 201 Washington Road in the historic West Windsor community of Penns Neck. Originally founded as laboratories by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), it has, over many decades, been one of the nation's leading technical and scientific innovation facilities.

RCA was established in 1919 in Riverhead, New York[1] and rapidly grew into an internally-recognized electronics and communications behemoth. In its first several decades, and especially under the leadership of Brigadier General David Sarnoff, the company was at the forefront of the rapidly-expanding radio and television industry. Largely in response to an intensifying national defense climate amid World War II, RCA broke ground on their West Windsor research and development campus ("RCA Laboratories") in 1941 and formally opened it the following year. This would become the corporation's primary research and development facility.[2] This was also on the site of the old Engelke and Olden farms that had operated for many previous generations.[3] 

What began as a staff of 125 scientists and engineers here blossomed over the decades into hundreds more. In 1951, the facility was renamed the "David Sarnoff Research Center." The campus employed tradespeople of all sorts - physicists, chemists, engineers, patent experts, administrative staff, buildings and grounds maintenance, and others. Many were local residents. Until the late 1900s, West Windsor was a rural community, so on-site infrastructure had to be built from the ground up: wells, sanitary waste disposal systems, incinerators, generators, a steam plant, and more. Mechanical and electronic components were often designed, manufactured, and assessed on-site in multiple expansive drafting studios, model shops, and testing rooms. Innumerable pieces of specialized equipment populated the facility: microscopes, mass spectrometers, cryostats, and vacuum-tube computers, to name a few. The RCA Review technical journal disseminated information on research advancements.[4]

RCA's operations, per a 1957 pamphlet.

From the start, the facility was involved in myriad endeavors: optics, acoustics, communications, physics, electronics, computer systems, medical research, transportation, and more. Notably, during the facility's first years amid World War II, the federal government contracted RCA to turn its focus to advancing national defense technologies. Examples include their sonar-based "searchlights" and acoustical depth charges integral to submarine warfare, radar systems and automatic control techniques useful for airborne craft, long-distance telecommunications infrastructure, and nighttime reconnaissance systems.[5]

The high-speed demands of war molded RCA into a far more versatile and sophisticated corporation. This transformed culture persisted with peace-time operations. Following the war, the company's focus on civilian-grade electronics intensified. Notably, RCA Laboratories spearheaded innovations in color television. Not only was RCA's technology adopted as the standard for color TV by the Federal Communications Commission in 1953; the next year, the company also began selling the world's first mass-produced consumer-grade color television set (the CT-100). Whereas in 1938 the company was worth about $100 million, by 1955, it was a billion-dolor corporation.[6],[7]

Photo of a David Sarnoff Research Center laboratory, 1957.

Although RCA had resumed focus on civilian technology after the war, it did not neglect opportunities with the federal government. Notably, as the Cold War heated up, the company - and the David Sarnoff Research Center - innovated solutions to challenges presented by competition with the Soviet Union. In 1958, RCA established a new Astro-Electronic Products Division for the production of satellite and space vehicle systems. December 1958, RCA technology was on-board the US Army's SCORE satellite - the world's first purpose-built weather satellite. The West Windsor facility also contributed to other mission series - TIROS (meteorological), Saturn (heavy-lift launch vehicle), Apollo (manned missions into space revolving around the moon landing), and many others.[8] In 1961/2, space-related operations expanded with the construction of an East Windsor "Space Center" facility, but the West Windsor campus remain involved for many decades.[9]

The facility also continued to contribute to national security, such as by developing early ballistic missile warning systems and advanced navigation and communications systems.[10]

​In 1967, amid the facility's 25th anniversary celebrations, the David Sarnoff Library - a publicly-accessible collection of books, papers, instruments, correspondence, models, memorabilia, and more - was dedicated.[11] By this point, RCA had grown to 120,000 employees globally.[12] As the leader of RCA, David Sarnoff himself was, of course, present at his library's dedication.[13] Sarnoff, a legend in the telecommunications world, had counted among his relationships those with Sir Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Guglielmo Marconi, and several Presidents of the United States.[14]

Corporate sign off Washington Road, November 2018.

Innovations over the ensuing decades were innumerable - superconductors and semiconductors, broadcasting systems, televisions (including liquid crystal display - "LCD" - and high-definition systems), wireless technologies, healthcare products, and more.[15],[16],[17] 

In 1986, General Electric (GE) acquired RCA and liquidated most of the corporation's assets.[18] In 1987/8, General Electric transferred the David Sarnoff Research Center to the Sarnoff Corporation, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Stanford Research Institute (SRI) International.[19],[20] In 2009,  the David Sarnoff Library shut down[21],[22] and in 2010 its assets were transferred to several locations, including The College of New Jersey.[23] In 2011, the Sarnoff Corporation was integrated into its parent company, SRI International,[24] and continues to engage in research and development activities.

Corporate sign off Washington Road, November 2018.

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Bibliography

1. The RCA Laboratories - The David Sarnoff Research Center. West Windsor, New Jersey: RCA Laboratories Division, 1957. Accessed via Rutgers University Libraries website: https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3X34VQS
2. 1942-1967 Twenty-Five Years at RCA Laboratories. RCA , 1967. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/ARCHIVE-RCA/RCA-Engineer/25-Years-At-RCA-Labs-1942-1967.pdf
3. Fryer, H L. “Tax Maps of West Windsor Township.” Map. Trenton, New Jersey: H. L. Fryer, C.S., 1938. Revised by C. S. Sincerbeaux, 1938.
4. 1942-1967 Twenty-Five Years at RCA Laboratories. RCA , 1967. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/ARCHIVE-RCA/RCA-Engineer/25-Years-At-RCA-Labs-1942-1967.pdf
5. Ibid.
6. Warner, J C, E W Engstrom, and J Hillier. RCA an historical perspective. RCA, 1978. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Technology/RCA-Books/RCA-An-Historical-Perspective.pdf
7. RCA. “RCA Victor first in black-and-white television first in compatible color television invites you to see and order COLOR TV at its brightest and best.” Evening Star. Washington DC, April 25, 1954.
8. Warner, J C, E W Engstrom, and J Hillier. RCA an historical perspective. RCA, 1978. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Technology/RCA-Books/RCA-An-Historical-Perspective.pdf
9. "RUG CO. SPACE LEASED by RCA Division." Town Topics. August 6, 1961.
10. Warner, J C, E W Engstrom, and J Hillier. RCA an historical perspective. RCA, 1978. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Technology/RCA-Books/RCA-An-Historical-Perspective.pdf
11. 1942-1967 Twenty-Five Years at RCA Laboratories. RCA , 1967. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/ARCHIVE-RCA/RCA-Engineer/25-Years-At-RCA-Labs-1942-1967.pdf
12. Warner, J C, E W Engstrom, and J Hillier. RCA an historical perspective. RCA, 1978. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Technology/RCA-Books/RCA-An-Historical-Perspective.pdf
13. 1942-1967 Twenty-Five Years at RCA Laboratories. RCA , 1967. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/ARCHIVE-RCA/RCA-Engineer/25-Years-At-RCA-Labs-1942-1967.pdf
14. David Sarnoff Library. David S, 1977. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Technology/RCA-Books/David-Sarnoff-Library-Princeton-1977.pdf
15. Warner, J C, E W Engstrom, and J Hillier. RCA an historical perspective. RCA, 1978. Retrieved from: https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Technology/RCA-Books/RCA-An-Historical-Perspective.pdf
16. 40th Anniversary RCA Laboratories 1942-1982. West Windsor, New Jersey: David Sarnoff Research Center, 1982. 
17. Technology Campus News - Sarnoff and West Windsor... A Legacy of Trust and Responsibility. West Windsor, New Jersey: Sarnoff Corporation, 2002. Published in anticipation of a proposed expansion of the Sarnoff Corporation's campus at 201 Washington Road in West Windsor, NJ
18. "What's in a name? A corporate identity crisis." Arkansas Gazette. January 5, 1986.
19. "G. E. to Donate RCA Laboratories to Non-Profit Research Organization."
20. ​"SRI International Sarnoff in West Windsor continues transformation." The Times. March 21, 2011.
21. "Saying 'so long' to the Sarnoff Library." Daily Princetonian. October 15, 2009.
22. "Sarnoff museum may find home at TCNJ." NJ.com. October 29, 2009.
23. Sarnoff collection at TCNJ. Accessed September 3, 2023. http://embark.tcnj.edu/. 
24. "SRI International Sarnoff in West Windsor continues transformation." The Times. March 21, 2011.