More likely a radio nerd, John Alvin Pierce, that was just really good at radio and obsessed with oscillators (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/60675) that inspired a group of distinguished government-employed engineers and scientists.
In fairness, there _might_ be a pocket-protector in this picture of them but it's a bit blurry. Actually, yes, there definitely is. No cigarettes, however:
