William Moore
| William Moore MBE | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Thomas Moore 26 October 1936 Christchurch, New Zealand |
| 💀Died | 17 August 1990 London, England17 August 1990 |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Optical scanning systems for thermal imaging equipment |
William Thomas Moore MBE (26 October 1936 – 17 August 1990) was a New Zealand-born British physicist and thermal imaging engineer. He worked at Rank Research Laboratories and Rank Pullin Controls, where he served as Chief Scientist and contributed to the development of compact optical scanning systems used in military thermal imaging equipment.[1]
His work formed part of the development of second-generation thermal imaging systems used in military reconnaissance during the late Cold War period, and contributed to making thermal imaging devices smaller, lighter, and more practical for operational use.
Early life and education
Moore was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He studied at the University of New Zealand (Canterbury College), earning a Bachelor of Science in 1959 and a Master of Science in Physics in 1961.[2] Later that year he emigrated to the United Kingdom.
Career
Moore spent most of his career at Rank Research Laboratories in Brentford and later at Rank Pullin Controls in Debden, Essex. Both organisations were part of the Rank Organisation, a British industrial group involved in precision optics, instrumentation, and defence-related technologies.[3]
A Rank corporate report in February 1981 stated that Rank Research Laboratories had been integrated with Rank Pullin Controls at Debden, where development continued on night vision and thermal imaging equipment. Moore contributed to the Thermal Imaging Common Module (TICM) Class II programme, which was awarded to Rank Taylor Hobson by the Ministry of Defence.[4]
This work translated designs developed at the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) into equipment suitable for operational military use.[5]
Thermal imaging systems developed during this period were intended for reconnaissance platforms including airborne systems, remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), and ground-based observation equipment. Moore worked on modular scanning systems designed to reduce the size, weight and cost of thermal imaging equipment while maintaining performance.[6]
Rank Pullin Controls and Rank Taylor Hobson were sold to the General Electric Company in 1988 and later became part of GEC-Marconi Avionics in 1993.[7]
Thermal imaging technology contributions
Moore published several papers describing optical scanning systems used in infrared imaging devices.
Early work included pupil relay optics, where the exit pupil of an afocal telescope was reflected onto a rotating polygon mirror and relayed by a concave mirror onto a flapping mirror. Moore and T. C. Reeve described this system in their 1979 paper “A 625-line CCIR Compatible Thermal Imaging System”.[8]
Moore and T. D. Woolls later described a compact thermal imaging payload for remotely piloted vehicle applications in 1985.[9]
Moore contributed to a compact coaxial scanning mechanism described in the 1986 SPIE paper “A Compact High Performance Thermal Imager”, co-authored with Alan H. Lettington of RSRE.[10]
The coaxial scanning configuration was further described in 1990.[11]
Honours
Moore was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1980 Birthday Honours.[12]
Patents
- GB2248310, Inventor: William T. Moore, Title: Thermal imaging apparatus, Publication date: 1 April 1992.[13]
- GB2188205, Inventor: William T. Moore, Title: Correcting optical imagers, Publication date: 23 September 1987.[14]
- EP0213867, Inventors: William T. Moore and Kenneth Joseph Wallace, Title: Imaging apparatus, Publication date: 11 March 1987.[15]
Personal life
Moore was a member of the "Grasshoppers", a group of amateur animators and cine film enthusiasts who met at the London School of Film Technique.[16]
Death
Moore died on 17 August 1990 at Middlesex Hospital in London at the age of 53.
References
- ↑ Williams, John L. (2009). Thermal Imaging Cameras: Characteristics and Performance (1st ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 17. ISBN 978-1420071856. Search this book on
- ↑ New Zealand University Graduates 1870 - 1961, New Zealand Vice- Chancellors’ Committee (1962). New Zealand University Graduates 1870–1961. Search this book on
- ↑ "Rank Precision Industries".
- ↑ "Rank Organisation plc Annual Report 1981" (PDF). Rank Organisation plc. 1981. p. 5. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ↑ Amin, A. M. (1986). Geometrical Analysis and Rectification of Thermal Infrared Video Frame Scanner Imagery and its Potential Applications to Topographic Mapping (PhD thesis). University of Glasgow.
- ↑ Schlessinger, Monroe (1995). "8". Infrared Technology Fundamentals (2 ed.). Marcel Dekker. pp. 191–198. Search this book on
- ↑ "Rank Precision Industries".
- ↑ Moore, William T.; Reeve, T. C. (1979). A 625-line CCIR Compatible Thermal Imaging System. 2nd International Conference on Low Light and Thermal Imaging. IEE Conference Publication 173. pp. 63–64.
- ↑ Moore, William T.; Woolls, T. D. (1985). A Thermal Imaging Payload for RPV Applications. 5th International Conference on Remotely Piloted Vehicles. University of Bristol.
- ↑ Lettington, Alan H.; Moore, William T. (1986). A Compact High Performance Thermal Imager (PDF). SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 685: Infrared Technology XI. San Diego, USA.
- ↑ Lettington, Alan H.; Moore, William T. (1990). The Coaxial Scanner in a Compact High Performance Thermal Imager. SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 1191: Optical Systems for Space and Defence. London, UK. doi:10.1117/12.969698.
- ↑ "Birthday Honours". The London Gazette (48212). 14 June 1980.
- ↑ "GB2248310B". Google Patents. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ "GB2188205B". Google Patents. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ "EP0213867B1". Google Patents. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ↑ Clark, Ken. "The Grasshopper Animators – part 3". Animator Magazine.
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