Friday, October 30, 2020

James Edward Maceo West --- Invented the Foil Electret Microphone in 1962

 Electret Condenser Microphone (ECM) – Institut für Nachrichtentechnik –  Technical University of Darmstadt

 James Edward Maceo West 

born February 10, 1931

 

  West then joined the faculty of the Whiting School at Johns Hopkins University where he is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In 2007, West received an honorary doctorate from NJIT.[1]

 

Inventions and scientific contributions

Along with Gerhard Sessler, West invented the foil electret microphone in 1962 while developing instruments for human hearing research.[2] Compared to the previous condenser microphones, the electret microphone has higher capacitance and does not require a DC bias.[3] 

 

 West and Sessler optimized the mechanical and surface parameters of the system.[4] Nearly 90 percent of more than two billion microphones produced annually are based on the principles of the foil-electret and are used in everyday items such as telephones, camcorders, hearing aids, baby monitors, and audio recording devices among others.[5]

  

 West measured the acoustics of Philharmonic Hall in New York City.[6] Recently, West teamed with Ilene Busch-Vishniac and studied the acoustic environment of hospitals showing that hospitals are in general too loud and that the noise levels affect staff and patients.[7] 

 

 Dr. West has over 250 patents to his name.[8] At age 87 in 2018, he is still an active inventor working on a device to detect pneumonia in infant lungs.[9]

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