One of the company founders and original chief executive was William J. Perry, who eventually became United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton.
[citation needed] For optical systems ESL developed one of the first digital image processing capabilities for aerial photography (both satellite and aircraft platforms).
Consequently, ESL has always been a pioneer in the fields of antenna design throughout a wide part of the electromagnetic spectrum, including advances in phased array technology.
After successes in specific applications for the government market, ESL began producing some of these receiving systems as commercially available catalog items in the late 1970s.
[3] Optical systems analysis has been conducted for four decades, starting in the 1960s with satellite imagery and laser light scattering from atmospheric particles.
The company developed the first software for interpreting renal isograms in the diagnosis of Renovascular hypertension, working in conjunction with physicians practicing in the kidney disease diagnostics field.
[4] The company underwent a successful public offering of its common stock underwritten by Hambrecht & Quist in the mid 1970s with shares thereafter trading on the NASDAQ exchange.
Northrop Grumman has one of the largest intelligence analysis capabilities in the U.S. and is a leader in developing computer architectures and multi-source data integration tools.
In February 1988, former employee Richard Farley fatally shot seven people and wounded four others at the company's headquarters after years of stalking former co-worker Laura Black.