SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX011
ARLX011 Former ARRL staffer Mason P. Southworth, ex-W1VLH (SK)

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QST de W1AW  
Special Bulletin 11  ARLX011
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  September 10, 2015
To all radio amateurs 

SB SPCL ARL ARLX011
ARLX011 Former ARRL staffer Mason P. Southworth, ex-W1VLH (SK)

Former ARRL staffer Mason Southworth, ex-W1VLH, of Montara,
California, died August 28 from complications related to a traumatic
brain injury 2 years ago. He was 81. A graduate of Trinity College
in Hartford and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he began work in
1956 at ARRL Headquarters, where he met his wife, Freddie.

While at ARRL, he was chosen to head the ARRL International
Geophysical Year (IGY) Propagation Research Project (PRP). Conducted
under a US Air Force contract, the PRP enlisted 600 Amateur Radio
operators from around the world to help improve the understanding of
VHF propagation. Data from the experiment, sorted and recorded on
300,000 computer punch cards, provided a global footprint of VHF
propagation phenomena.

Southworth subsequently directed a PRP follow-on project under O.G.
Villard, W6QYT, at Stanford University, researching transequatorial
scatter propagation. He later returned to the East Coast to join
IBM, where he spent 25 years and became known for his ability to
make complex technological concepts accessible to non-scientists.

During his League tenure, Southworth authored numerous articles on
the PRP as well as on VHF-related topics, including construction
projects.
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