The establishment and growth of SRI's Engineering organization were due primarily to the leadership of Thomas H. Morrin. Tom Morrin joined SRI in 1948 as the very first member of what would become the future Engineering Research Group. Based on his extensive Naval Engineering career during WWII and his early postwar association with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Tom Morrin was given the responsibility to build a new Engineering capability at SRI. Morrin attracted leaders, such as Dr. Jerre Noe, Dr. John Granger, Dr. Donald Scheuch, Mr. Lucien Clarke, and others that he had worked with during his ONR days of overseeing the work of the Harvard Radio Research Laboratory, which had contributed significantly to the development of radar during WWII.
Over the next 15 years, as Vice President for SRI’s Engineering Group, Tom Morrin provided the appropriate environment for bringing important and significant government defense and commercial projects to SRI. In 1955, with support from Dr. Fred Terman, Provost of Stanford University, Tom Morrin convinced Dr. Allen Peterson to add to his university professor role and in addition become a senior scientist at SRI. This new relationship created a bridge between Stanford and SRI, which in turn further caused the organization to expand its involvement in important areas.
Morrin also sought out commercial clients that he felt would benefit from innovative technological advances. Morrin worked with Southern Pacific, which established a Basic Ordering Agreement, from which several now-familiar projects emerged, such as the grade crossing computer and the hydrocushion shock absorber coupler technology for cross country transports that is still considered an industry standard.
Morrin had the ability to build a team to meet an objective, then get out of the way and allow it to work. Due in large extent to Morrin's efforts, Engineering grew from a staff of 1 when he arrived in 1948 to 150 when he left in 1963, laying the foundation for a growth to over 1000 later on. He also helped create its outstanding reputation for quality with many parts of the US government and with many important commercial companies worldwide.