James E. West, a Johns Hopkins engineering faculty member
who co-invented the
microphone used in most telephones and many other
electronic devices worldwide,
has been named a recipient of the nation's highest honor
for technological
innovation. In a statement released last week, President
George W. Bush
announced that West is one of five people who will receive
the 2006 National
Medal of Technology. Bush will present the medals during a
White House awards
ceremony on July 27.
Established by an act of Congress in 1980, the Medal of
Technology was first
awarded in 1985. According to the Commerce Department's
Technology
Administration, the medal is given annually to individuals,
teams and companies
for their outstanding contributions to the nation's
economic, environmental and
social well-being through the development and
commercialization of technology
products, processes and concepts; technological innovation;
and development of
the nation's technological manpower.
At Bell Labs in 1962, West and his colleague Gerhard
Sessler patented the
electret microphone, in which thin sheets of polymer film,
metal-coated on one
side, are given a permanent charge to serve as the membrane
and bias of a
condenser microphone that helps convert sound to electrical
signals with high
fidelity.
Almost 90 percent of the more than 2 billion microphones
produced today are
based on the principles developed by West and Sessler. West
spent more than four
decades with Bell Labs, building upon this research and
obtaining more than 200
U.S. and foreign patents. He also authored or contributed
to more than 140
technical papers.
In 2002 West joined the Johns Hopkins faculty as a research
professor in the
Whiting School of Engineering's Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering.
"Jim West has had a remarkable career," said Nicholas P.
Jones, dean of the
Whiting School. "His creativity, technical accomplishments
and the impact of
his research are tremendous and have transformed the ways
we communicate. Beyond
his contributions to the field of acoustics, he has also
demonstrated a deep
commitment to mentoring students, collaborating with
colleagues and providing
educational opportunities in engineering. This is a
well-deserved honor, and we
are proud to have him as a member of our faculty."
Since joining the Whiting School faculty, West has
continued to experiment with
new communications materials and technologies and has
conducted research aimed
at reducing hospital noise. West also has been active in
programs designed to
encourage more minorities and women to enter the fields of
science, technology
and engineering.
"I've collaborated with Jim at various levels for almost 30
years now. I know
him to be both brilliant and creative," said Ilene
Busch-Vishniac, a professor
of mechanical engineering who, while serving as dean of the
Whiting School,
helped recruit West to join the Johns Hopkins faculty.
"When you consider his
technical accomplishments, such as electret microphones and
the speakerphone,
and his work to make academic experiences available for
black students, such as
the creation of the Bell Labs Corporate Research Fellowship
Program, Jim is
arguably the most accomplished and important black
scientist active today. Johns
Hopkins is very lucky to have him."
West's achievements have led to numerous professional
honors. In 1998, he was
elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and a year
later, he was
inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is a
fellow of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the
Acoustical Society of
America, and has served as president of the latter
organization. He has received
the Golden Torch Award of the National Society of Black
Engineers and the Silver
and Gold Medals in Engineering Acoustics from the
Acoustical Society of America.
In 1997, the New Jersey Institute of Technology awarded
West an honorary doctor
of science degree. In 2006 he was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Engineering from
Michigan State University.
West was born in 1931 in Farmville, Va., and developed an
interest in
electronics at an early age. His parents were disappointed
that he wished to
study physics instead of medicine. "In those days in the
South, the only
professional jobs that seemed to be open to a black man
were a teacher, a
preacher, a doctor or a lawyer," West said in a 2003
interview with the Johns
Hopkins Gazette. "My father introduced me to three black
men who had earned
doctorates in chemistry and physics. The best jobs they
could find were at the
post office. My father said I was taking the long road
toward working at the
post office."
Despite this warning, West pursued his original goal. While
attending Temple
University, he began working during summer breaks as an
intern at Bell Labs. He
joined the company full time in 1957 and continued to work
there for more than
40 years.
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