Phil Green was one of SRI's best managers, inventors, and promoters—a combination of skills that creates success at SRI. After his graduation, Phil Green was doing research at Lockheed on acoustic imaging for underwater detection, using very low frequency and long wavelength ultrasound energy. He believed that, if the frequency of the ultrasound was greatly increased, the resulting shorter wavelength would allow imaging of much smaller structures, for example, in the human body.
When Phil Green moved to SRI in 1968, he joined the very small bioengineering activity scattered about the Engineering Group. Hew Crane was working on visual instruments; Jim Bliss was working on bio-information systems; George Eilers was interested in ocular tonometry. When Phil Green began seeking grant support for his fledgling ultrasonic imaging activity, he also visited many commercial companies and formed alliances with local medical groups. This early exploration paid off later in commercial contracts with many biomedical companies and a firm base of clinical expertise with major medical centers, such as the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. One of his early successful grants was a three-year study of ultrasonic effects on human tissues, an investigation done jointly by the Engineering Group and Life Sciences. As Phil's reputation in the field grew, commercial clients began funding instrumentation development at SRI.
Phil was particularly good at attracting and hiring new staff, especially young, enthusiastic engineers and physicists. He ran a very hard-working but light-hearted group of researchers. In the early 1980s, his team was responsible for late-night secret installation of the SRI Gargoyle atop the new, sleekly modern P-Building stacks.
Phil was a prolific inventor, amassing numerous valuable patents on ultrasonic engineering and other applications of bioengineering. He developed the minimally invasive tele-presence surgery concept and minimally invasive instrumentation and techniques, which allow doctors the same dexterity and precision as open surgery, but through small incisions. These patents formed the basis of SRI's startup company, Intuitive Surgical, Inc., which went public in June 2000 and is expected to be a resounding success for SRI. Phil Green’s lasting contributions to SRI include innovative technology, millions in patent royalties, and a promising new spin-off company.