John Burnette MacChesney II (July 8, 1929 – September 30, 2021) was an American scientist. A Bell Labs pioneer in optical communication, he was best known for his 1974 invention of the modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) process with colleague P.B. O'Connor, and for co-inventing high-purity "sol-gel" overcladding for optical fiber in the early 1980s. These inventions were key to the commercial manufacture of optical fiber.
He received his B.A. degree from Bowdoin College in 1951, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and subsequently studied at City College of New York and New York University while working in New York City. In 1959 he received his Ph.D. in geochemistry from Pennsylvania State University, and joined Bell Labs, examining electrical and magnetic properties of ceramics and single crystals. In 1972 he turned his attention to glass and then to erbium and other rare-earth materials for fiber optic amplifiers.
MacChesney died on September 30, 2021, at the age of 92.[2]
References
^"Janice Hoyt Becomes Bride Of Sgt. John B. MacChesney", Evening Express, March 24, 1952. Accessed November 20, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Sergeant MacChesney, son of Mr. and Mrs. S. Burnette MacChesney of Caldwell, N. J., is a graduate of Grover Cleveland High School, Caldwell, N. J., was graduated at Bowdoin College in 1951 where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity."