Glen Parmelee Robinson, Jr. (September 10, 1923 – January 16, 2013), called the "father of high-tech industry in Georgia",[1] was an American businessman and founder of Scientific Atlanta, formerly a subsidiary of Cisco Systems.

Robinson was named an IEEE Fellow and held at least 39 patents in fields including solar energy devices and antenna systems.

After attending high school at Marion Military Institute in Alabama, Robinson opened a small machine shop in Valdosta.

[3][9][13] In 1950, Robinson went to Tennessee to work in nuclear engineering for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, servicing radiology-related equipment at local hospitals.

[9][18] A strict conflict of interest policy was enacted, and researchers were forced to choose between the two entities; the initial investors had all kept their faculty jobs, and most returned to them.

[16] Within eight years of operating, the firm had captured 60% of the global market share of electronic instruments for testing and designing antennas, had broken ground on a 25-acre facility in Northeast Atlanta, and had 240 employees on the payroll including 40 engineers.

Scientific Atlanta helped NASA establish ground stations for communication with astronauts during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects.

[3] When John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 on Mercury-Atlas 6, his voice was transmitted and received by radio antennas designed and equipment built by Scientific Atlanta.

[3] In 1975, HBO and TelePrompTer used Scientific Atlanta equipment to transmit the first live satellite-delivered cable event, the "Thrilla in Manila" heavyweight boxing championship bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

[3] Scientific Atlanta is perhaps best known for pioneering television cable set-top boxes and equipment worldwide and the development of satellite Earth stations.

[22] In 1986, E-Tech merged with Crispaire Corporation, which specialized in cooling equipment for telecommunications systems, school classrooms, and commercial/industrial structures.

[30] Most recently, Robinson was an investor in and co-founder of the 2007 VentureLab startup, C2 Biofuels, which attracted additional funding from Chevron and aims to build several $100 million cellulosic ethanol plants throughout the United States.

He was a presenting member of the White House Conference on the Industrial World Ahead, a meeting of the nation's top business leaders to discuss technological advancement, social change, manpower utilization, Cold War competition and the state of American enterprise.

Arranged by Richard Nixon and Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stans, it was the first such meeting ever held that focused solely on American business and the future.

[10][38] In 2007, half of Georgia Tech's Molecular Science and Engineering Building was named the Glen P. Robinson, Jr. Tower in his honor, due in part to his $5 million donation towards its construction.