控制雜志的讀者都知道Dick Morley是雜志“Other Voices”欄目的撰稿人，但是他所做的要遠大于此。對于一個貢獻其一生時間用于創造發明的人來說，這是極珍貴的，但是在Morely的專利中，有以下四個，確實使生活和文化得到了改變。 1960年，他發明了磁性薄膜并獲得專利。他的發明使得高容量數據存儲成為可能，起初是在軟盤上，隨后是在極小的硬盤上，甚至是像今天發現的IPOD；1968年，他發明了Modicon（除了最新Otto Struger），被認為是PLC之父；在1970年，他發明了手持式終端（Termiflex）并取得專利，這則是現場口徑測量器、編程器和PDA的先驅；最后，在1976年，他發明了Andover Controls，并創造了第一個現代化的樓宇自動化系統。 當這些專利被用于許多行業時，都對過程自動化產生了重大影響。作為一個成熟的PLC，經歷了從中繼替換到一個完整的、功能混合的控制器過程。過程自動化中現代化DCS看上去像一個帶有HMI的PLC運行在其它網絡終端。幾乎每一個儀器提供商都提供手持式編程器，而這個編程器則是Termiflex終端最直接的后代。 從那時起，Morely就開臺參與一些公司的成立，擔任業務和管理的高級技術顧問。最近，他定立了一個新職業——制造業未來主義者，并擔任NCMS（美國國家制造科學中心）的董事會主席。 Morely還是“give back and pay forward”的訂閱者。他和他的妻子雪莉在他們46年的婚姻生涯中，培養了30多個孩子，也是天使投資集團的主要謀劃人，目的在于幫助年輕企業家。 [FONT=times] original text [/FONT] [font=times][Color=#708090]CONTROL’s readers know Dick Morley as a frequent contributor to the “Other Voices” column in this magazine, but he is far more than that. It is a rare bird indeed who contributes to more than one life-changing invention, but among Morely’s patents are four that are, indeed life- and culture-changing. In 1960, he patented magnetic thin film. His invention made possible high capacity data storage, first on floppy disks, and then on tiny hard drives, even like those found today in iPods. In 1968, he founded Modicon, and （along with the late Otto Struger, of Allen-Bradley） is considered the “Father of the PLC.” In 1970, he patented a handheld terminal （Termiflex） that is the ancestor of field calibrators, programmers and the PDA. Finally, in 1976, he founded Andover Controls, and created the first modern building automation system. While all these patents are used in many industries, they have all had a substantial impact on process automation. As the PLC matured from a “relay replacement” to a complete, hybrid controller, the modern distributed control system in process automation looks an awful lot like a PLC with an HMI at the other end of a network. Nearly every instrument vendor provides a handheld programmer that is a direct descendant of the Termiflex terminal. Since then, Morely has had a hand in founding more than a dozen companies, and serves as a very popular high technology consultant to business and government. Recently, he made a new career as a manufacturing futurist, and serves as board chairman for the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences （NCMS）. Morely also is a subscriber to the “give back and pay forward” school of life. He and his wife Shirley have had over 30 foster children during their 46 years of marriage, and he is a major driver in an angel investment group that targets young entrepreneurs for help. [/color][/font] 原文摘自：http://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2006/021.html 主編：Walt Boyes