Background

Sidescan sonar is a technology that makes images of the sea floor using sound signals. MIT alumnus Martin Klein introduced the first commercially viable sidescan sonar system in 1969, opening the ocean bottoms to new projects in ocean mapping , harbor engineering, energy, telecommunications, and archaeology.

Martin Klein began studying sonar signal processing as an undergraduate at MIT, working with Professor Harold “Doc” Edgerton. After graduating in 1962, Klein was a sonar engineer at Edgerton’s firm, Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier (later, EG&G, Inc.) until he formed his own firm, Klein Associates, in 1969. There, he developed, marketed, and produced a series of increasingly advanced sonar systems and pioneered the switch to digital systems before selling the firm in 1989. Klein is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Historical Materials

The Martin Klein Collection at the MIT Museum contains artifacts, documents, and images documenting the development of sidescan sonar. Many materials, including lab notebooks, operations manuals, and business records, document the work of Klein and Klein Associates. There are also files of publications from other sonar companies, documentation of technical developments in various sonar fields, and records from projects undertaken with Klein sonar, including the search for the Titanic and the Loch Ness Monster.

This collection is grouped into four series, as follows:

Research Notebooks (Series I) contains six notebooks kept by Martin Klein between 1962 and 1970. These cover his time at MIT, EG&G, and the first years of Klein Associates. They contain research notes on sonar development and other engineering projects, as well as records of Klein’s travel and networking when sidescan sonar was new. See the notebooks here.

Klein Associates Business Records (Series II) contains business records and product information produced by Klein Associates. These include material about Klein sonar systems, from product development to patents, advertising, sales lists, and complete user’s manuals. In addition, there are company records covering a variety of corporate functions, including the company’s articles of incorporation, stockholder minutes, financial records, correspondence, and employee newsletters. This series also contains photographs of Klein products and employees. See the business records here.

Sonar Development (Series III): material collected by Martin Klein and Klein Associates about topics of interest to the firm. There are three distinct groups of material in this series.

• Technical Developments in Sonar (Series IIIa): engineering articles, product specifications, correspondence, and internal notes that track the developments, innovation, and production improvements in the sidescan sonar field, organized by topic. See the documents here.
• Sonar Firms (Series IIIb): material from other companies in the sidescan sonar business. This includes advertisements, information sheets, price lists, operation manuals, and other technical and promotional materials. Material is organized alphabetically by company. See the documents here.
• Sonar Expeditions (Series IIIc): clippings, correspondence, reports, and other materials from projects that used Klein equipment, including a hunt for the Loch Ness monster and the search for the Titanic, organized by the name of the search target. General correspondence with underwater archaeologists is also here. See expedition records here.

Images (Series IV): photographs, in slide format, taken by Martin Klein over several decades. These document equipment testing, underwater exploration expeditions, activity at Klein Associates, and other subjects related to Klein’s work with the sonar industry. See the slides here.

Martin Klein Collection

Title: Martin Klein Collection

Creator: Martin Klein

Dates [inclusive]: 1951-2010

Extent: 22 linear feet

Language: English

Repository: MIT Museum

Access: Open for research by appointment and online

Credit: Martin Klein Collection, Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum