Obituary: John E. Karlin, Helped Define the Telephone Experience for Bell Labs

The Little Silver resident was instrumental in determining features like round buttons over square and how they should be arranged on the phone as an industrial psychologist for Bell Labs from 1945 to 1977.

John E. Karlin, 94, a Little Silver resident who helped steer telephone calls away from exchanges to all-number dialing following World War II and developed the phone keypad, died on Jan. 28, according to an article in The New York Times. Karlin worked for Bell Labs from 1945 to 1977 as an industrial psychologist, according to the article, and was responsible for helping to develop features like the length of a phone cord, the size of its buttons once rotary dialing became a thing of the past and the format of the phone keypad. An accomplished violinist, Karlin was a member of the board of trustees of the Red Bank Chamber Music Society and the Monmouth Conservatory of Music, according to Legacy.com. He was part of the group that founded …

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Faulty Pipe Caused Flood In Two Buildings At Alcatel-Lucent Property in Holmdel

On Oct. 7, water filled two buildings at the former Bell Labs site.

Mayor Patrick Impreveduto said that on Oct. 7 a pipe burst at the Alcatel-Lucent property on Crawfords Corner Road and two outer buildings were flooded. Buildings 3 and 4 at the former Bell Labs campus were filled with 32 inches of water which caused some damage to the interior, said the mayor.  "It's a mess," Impreveduto said.  The mayor said the flood was detected by NJ American Water when water pressure dropped in the area. Impreveduto shared the news when he was asked for an update on the redevelopment of the former Bell Labs facility during the public comment session. Somerset Development recently became the contract buyer of the property, replacing Sterling Oversight. A mixed use development is planned.  In a previous statement, the …

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Obituary: John W. Boyhan, Former Bell Labs Engineer and Holmdel Resident

Boyhan was involved in the Telstar Satellite series, among many other telecom projects.

John W. Boyhan, 85, of Fort Myers, Florida, passed away on August 31, 2012.  John was born in New York City and spent most of his life in Holmdel, New Jersey.  Mr. Boyhan was held a B.E.E. in Electrical Engineering from New York University and a Masters in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri at Rolla. John spent much of his life as a telecommunications engineer with various AT&T Companies, most specifically, Bell Laboratories (Lucent Technologies).  Mr. Boyhan retired at 75, while with Loral Skynet, after exciting adventures of a “Rocket Scientist,” living in Iceland; Tehran, Iran; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and Japan.  John’s major contributions include the aiding in the design of the voice communications for Air Force One …

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Vandals Strike Alcatel-Lucent Outlying Buildings Sunday

The trespassers gained entry to some small outer buildings and caused some damage.

On Sunday, vandals broke windows and sprayed fire extinguishers in some outer buildings behind the main Alcatel-Lucent building on Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel Police say.  Security guards called police at 5:21 p.m. to report the criminal mischief. They told police their last check of the area where the damage occurred was at 1:21 p.m.  Windows were broken at what is known as the Wave Guide Building, and fire extinguishers were found laying outside.  The glass portion to a metal door to Building 10, the Ocean Simulator Facililty, was also broken. Police found fire extinguishers had been sprayed inside the building. One fire extinguisher was thrown through the window of Building 11.  A security officer had observed three juveniles walking…

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Alcatel-Lucent Redevelopment Plan OK'd By Holmdel Township Committee

Four out of five elected township officials approve the formal "vision statement" for the huge property, formerly known as Bell Labs.

The construction of up to 40 single family homes and 185 age-restricted townhouses would be allowed at the Alcatel-Lucent property on Crawfords Corner Road and Roberts Road, under the township's new 2012 Alcatel-Lucent Redevelopment Plan okayed by the majority of the Township Committee Thursday. Township officials were careful to point out the plan is a broad "vision statement" and not a formal site plan. The present contract buyer, Sterling Oversight LLC, has not presented its concept plan to Holmdel officials yet. Mayor Patrick Impreveduto said that after research, he had come to the realization that the 473-acre property was simply not marketable to developers without the ability to build houses on the highly desirable Holmdel land. "…

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Rocks Shatter Glassy Alcatel-Lucent Building Again

The 2-million square foot structure is targeted by mischief.

A security guard patrolling the vacant Alcatel-Lucent building at 101 Crawfords Corner Road discovered a large glass window in the rear of the building had been shattered by a rock thown at it, probably over the weekend. Broken glass and rocks were found on the ground. This is the second incident of rock-throwing criminal mischief reported at the facility in recent weeks. Numerous glass window panes were hit on the weekend of April 14-15, causing $10,000 worth of damage, according to the Alcatel-Lucent Property Manager Tom Resetar. On that occasion, police said there was evidence the vandals had been inside. The building has been unoccupied since 2006, but there is 24-hour surveillance at the complex and security guards patrolling the …

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Innovation and the Bell Labs Miracle

Jon Gertner is the author of the forthcoming “The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation. He discusses how Bell Labs was designed to foster intellectual collaboration.

Alcatel-Lucent Sees Higher Margins After Ending Losses

The France based company shows the first annual profit in six years. Management is planning expense reduction through job cuts. The company owns a vacant property at 101 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel, NJ.

Opinion: The Alcatel-Lucent Tract Tax Ratable is Not 'The Golden Goose'

Resident Robert Way challenges conventional knowlege by sifting through some historical tax data.

  All too often when discussion about Holmdel's current budget crisis comes up the inevitable mention of the Acatel-Lucent tract having been the "Golden Goose" is referenced and made out to be one of -- if not the main -- contributing factor to the town's economic woes.  Not willing to accept this notion at face value, and with a little curiosity to go along with that skepticism, I decided to get a realistic view as to whether or not the "Golden Goose" had indeed stopped laying eggs. In its heyday, Block 11, Lot 38 -- that being the Lucent tract -- a Class 4b Industrial ratable, was assessed at over $208 million from 1992 until 1997.  In 1997 alone, it contributed over $4.5 million in property taxes which is the largest raw dollar amount I…

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Robert Way

9:57 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012

Tony, thank you for the recognition in regard to the effort that went into the analysis. Knowing you and I are more often than not on the opposite side of issues, your compliment is appreciated. All of the points you bring up are valid and I am aware of the recommendations that Mr. Fink had made and appreciate his effort in trying to identify additional reductions and revenue generators. Those …   more ›

Alcatel-Lucent Plan Draws Reaction from Architects and Preservation Groups

Professionals who studied the Bell Labs site in Holmdel three years ago share their concerns for maintaining its historic value.

This statement was issued by Michael Calafati Architect, LLC, of Cape May on Dec. 6. The coalition of organizations advocating for the preservation of the former Bell Labs building and landscape have been anticipating the proposed zoning changes from Holmdel Township for most of this year. A multidisciplinary Charrette held three ago years by AIA-New Jersey, Docomomo US/NY Tri-State and Preservation NJ developed design approaches for the preservation and sympathetic reuse of the internationally significant modernist landmark.  “The Bell Labs site poses many challenges adapting it sensitively to new uses while protecting the landscape,” said Michael Calafati, AIA, of AIA-New Jersey. “We are heartened to see that Holmdel is acknowledging …

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