Editing HRL Laboratories (section)

==History==
In the 1940s, [[Howard Hughes]] created an [[R&D]] facility in [[Culver City, California]]. In 1959 construction started on the headquarters located on a [[Malibu, California|Malibu]] hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The modernist white and glass building was designed by Los Angeles architects Ragnar Qvale and Neil Johnson. It was originally designed for David M. Potter to be Potter Aeronautical Company, and was acquired by Hughes Research Laboratories prior to completion. The headquarters was built by the [[Del E. Webb Construction Company]], who built several facilities for Hughes. The laboratory opened in 1960.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://delwebbsuncitiesmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1959-1960.pdf |title=Webb Spinner 1959–1960 |access-date=2019-10-18 |archive-date=2020-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309100154/https://delwebbsuncitiesmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1959-1960.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1970 the Webb Construction Company built the second building.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://delwebbsuncitiesmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1969-1970.pdf |title=Webb Spinner 1969–1970 |access-date=2019-10-18 |archive-date=2018-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023120114/https://delwebbsuncitiesmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1969-1970.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1984 the U.S. Federal Courts declared in a court case that the [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]] must divest itself of [[Hughes Aircraft]] Company and subsidiaries in order to retain its non-profit status. This led to [[General Motors]] purchasing Hughes Aircraft in 1985.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cole |first=Robert J. |date=1985-06-06 |title=G.m. to Acquire Hughes Aircraft in $5 Billion Bid |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/06/us/gm-to-acquire-hughes-aircraft-in-5-billion-bid.html |access-date=2020-06-08 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2020-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608065101/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/06/us/gm-to-acquire-hughes-aircraft-in-5-billion-bid.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

GM sold the Hughes aerospace and defense operations to [[Raytheon]] in 1997, and spun off Hughes Research Laboratories (legally renamed and organized on December 17, 1997 as a limited liability company, "HRL Laboratories, LLC"), with GM and Raytheon as co-owners. GM sold the Hughes satellite operations to [[Boeing]] in 2000, and the co-owners became Boeing, GM, and Raytheon. In 2007, Raytheon decided to sell its stake, though it still maintains research and contractual relations with HRL. For more details, please see [[Hughes Aircraft]]. HRL receives funding from its LLC partners, US government contracts, and other commercial customers.

HRL Laboratories, LLC received its first patent on September 12, 2000.

HRL focuses on advanced developments in [[microelectronics]], [[information science|information]] and [[systems science]]s, materials, [[sensors]], and [[photonics]]; their workspace spans from basic research to product delivery. It has particularly emphasized capabilities in high performance [[integrated circuits]], high power [[lasers]], antennas, [[Computer networking|networking]], [[quantum information science]], and [[smart materials]].

Despite downsizing during the aerospace industry's contraction of the 1990s, HRL still continued to be the largest employer in Malibu.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}}