title: John van Geen
text: # John van Geen
  
  John van Geen (August 17, 1929 – June 6, 2000) was a researcher at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) who was known for his advances in the acoustically coupled modem.
  
  ## Early life and education
  
  Van Geen was born in 1929 in Etterbeek, Belgium. In 1953, he received a degree in electrical and radio engineering from Brussels University.
  
  ## Career
  
  In 1959, Van Geen joined the Stanford Research Institute. Van Geen's enhancements to the modem in 1966 allowed the designed receiver to detect data (in the form of bits) and distinguish it from background noise more reliably than any previous models.
  
  His advancements also led to the release of the first public modem. It appealed to the public because it mimicked the characteristics of a standard telephone handset at that time.
  
  Van Geen retired from the Stanford Research Institute in 1989 after 30 years there. He died on June 6, 2000, in Monterey Peninsula.
  
  