Born: May 23, 1907, in Dayton, Ohio, into a German descent family.
Attended Catholic elementary school and won a scholarship to the University of Dayton preparatory school.
Worked as an inspector at Day-Fan Electric during college, supervising radio testing and production.
Career Beginnings
1929: Graduated and began work at General Motors Radio, where he met lifelong friend Robert E. Mumma.
1933: Supervised liquidation of General Motors Radio, conducted teleprinter communications research for Telecom Laboratories.
1935: Hired by Harry Williams at Frigidaire Division of General Motors.
1938: Joined National Cash Register Company to form Electrical Research Laboratory under Edward A. Deeds.
Innovations and Contributions
Focused on using tubes and circuitry in counting devices to develop high-speed mathematical computing machines.
Collaborated with MIT's Electrical Engineering Department led by Vannevar Bush.
Inventions During WWII
1940: Lab awarded contracts by National Defense Research Committee for vacuum tube research.
Developed a high-speed thyratron for the University of Chicago Manhattan Project.
Evaluated electronic deciphering device design from MIT, deemed unfeasible due to tube requirements.
1942: Led the design of the U.S. version of the bombe decryption machine, resulting in the United States Naval Computing Machine Laboratory.
Post-War Career and Achievements
1946: Filed a patent for an electronic calculator with Bob Mumma, leading to the first patent on a modern digital computer.
Continued work at NCR, contributing to the development of the NCR 304, the first fully solid-state computer.
Retired in 1972.
Awards and Honors
Awarded the Medal for Merit by President Harry S. Truman in 1947.
Inducted into the NSA/CSS Hall of Honor in 2011.
Received the University of Dayton Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2017.
IEEE Joe Desch Innovation Award
Initiated in 2008 to honor Desch's legacy, organized by his daughter Deborah Anderson since 2013.
Awarded to notable engineers including John Janning, Dr. Peter T. Brody, Whitfield Diffie, and others.
Notable Patents
Numerous patents filed and issued for electronic devices and computing machines, primarily assigned to The National Cash Register Company.
Patents include electronic devices, calculating machines, communication systems, and more.
Further Reading and References
Refer to sources like Dayton Daily News, "The Secret in Building 26," and the Dayton Codebreakers Website for additional insights and detailed historical accounts.