Were it not for the work of Dr. James E. West, today’s well-known speakers, and entertainers may be using a very different means of having their voices heard or hearing others. West helped build the foil electret microphone, which served as the foundation for microphones we use today.

West started his career as an acoustic scientist at Bell Labs, where he helped develop a small and inexpensive microphone that went into mass production in 1968. After his retirement from Bell in 2001, he became a research professor at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering.

During his career, West was named president-elect of the Acoustical Society of America and member of the National Academy of Engineering. He and fellow scientist Gerhard Sessler, who helped him build the microphone, joined the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1999. He received National Medal of Technology and Innovation for his foil electret microphone invention in 2006. At the time of his award, the foil electret technology was being used in 90% of the 2 billion microphones produced every year, and in other devices, including telephones, hearing aids, camcorders, and audio recording devices. In addition to his technological achievements, West advocated for greater diversity in the fields of science and technology.

Dr. West’s work provided the road map for many items that we use in everyday life, but specifically what our Investigative team at USI uses on a daily basis. Thank you sir for your contribution!