Emerald Hills, CA

Engineer and inventor Robert (Bob) Matthews Phillips passed away at home, enveloped in the love of his family on October 11, 2024. Bob was born in Arcadia, California on September 27, 1929, one month before the Great Depression started. He was the fourth of five children of Edward Ashley Phillips and Annette (Matthews) Phillips.

Edward was an economics professor at the University of Southern California, where he met Annette, who was majoring in language and later taught high school Spanish before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Just as the Depression loomed, Bob's father was terminated at the insistence of the alumni association for giving deservedly low grades to academically underperforming athletes, threatening their football eligibility.

The family subsisted on the proceeds from a chicken/egg ranch and an acre of land devoted to growing fruits and vegetables. Overall, despite the economic challenges, Bob's childhood was quite happy. Bob grew up near the Santa Anita Race Track, where he acquired his love of horse racing, frequently attending races with his older brother Ed.

The family’s prospects turned positive after his father went to work for the Internal Revenue Service and Bob was able to enroll at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He graduated from Caltech in 1952 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and joined General Electric’s Advanced Engineering Program in Schenectady, N.Y., where he met Helen Cascio. They married in 1957 and built a home in Emerald Hills, CA, where they raised their family and lived ever since. They had three daughters, Laura, Carol and Roben.

Bob had transferred to GE’s Microwave Lab Division in Palo Alto in 1956. He invented the ubitron a year later, a vacuum tube that was the most powerful microwave amplifier of its time. In recognition of his pioneering work, he was awarded the Free-Electron Laser Prize in 1992, which is given to a person who has contributed significantly to the advancement of the field of free-electron lasers. Today’s free-electron lasers employ the same basic principle as the ubitron.

Bob's career continued with research and management positions at GE, Varian, and Eimac. He started a solar products company called Solartronics in 1975 and helped develop Star Microwave in 1991. In the mid 1990’s, he joined the Stanford Linear Accelerator operated by Stanford University in Menlo Park, CA., as an Engineering Physicist. He retired from S.L.A.C. in 2005.

Bob and Helen enjoyed exploring creative investments.

For about a decade in the mid 70’s they owned a condo on Maui, joining a small vacation rental company called Hawaii Homes. They treated the family to fabulous vacations together in Hawaii. During his working years and well into his retirement, Bob enjoyed playing tennis, volleyball, golf and bike riding with Helen and friends. He and Helen regularly walked the local track until his 95th birthday.

One of the places most special to Bob was the small eight acre vineyard that he and Helen bought in Healdsburg, CA. in 1965. The Phillips family all picked and stomped their own grapes, creating the Phillips private label fine Zinfandel wine in good years, and vinegar (unintentionally) in others. The wine room that Bob built in the garage carried the pungent fermenting fragrance of this unique family tradition for years.

Bob was a kind, loving, humble, intelligent man who was deeply loved by his family and friends. He will be celebrated in our hearts and minds for how much he added to the world and our lives in his brief time. Bob is survived by his wife, Helen Phillips, and his three daughters, Laura, Carol and Roben. A Celebration of Bob’s life will be held in April 2025.