So as you know February is Black History Month and as an educated African-American, I love this time of the year. This month is full of inspiration because I want to someday make something great that leaves a lasting impact. As an aside, I love saying appreciate me, its Black History Month to people.
Although, today is about something bigger than me; have you wondered what makes someone's voice able to project in arenas, auditoriums, or even a club. I bet you haven't stopped to think, how can I be able to hear that guy on the stage? Or maybe have you ever wonder how you can hear your friend while on your Iphone? Well, to alleviate the suspense, I am talking about Dr. James E. West.
Dr. West was born in 1931 in Prince Edwards County, Virginia. West started out as an intern for Bell Laboratories and later joined full-time after graduating from Temple University in 1957. Dr. James E. West and a colleague while at Bell Laboratories developed the Electroacoustic Transducer Electret Microphone, also known as the mic. They received a patent for their efforts in 1962. James West has received numerous
awards and honors including a Fellow of IEEE, Industrial Research Institute's
1998 Achievement Award, 1995 Inventor of the Year from the State of New
Jersey and induction in the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1999. James E. West
holds 47 US patents and more than 200 foreign patents from his 40-year career
with Bell Laboratories. This single invention is still widely used today. This small, lightweight, and cost effective design made it possible for people to communicate.
West's career was not established to claim fame but to involve himself with programs designed to encourage minorities in sciences. As a member of the Association of Black Laboratories Employees (ABLE) at Bell Labs, he helped orchestrate the Summer Research Program and Cooperate Research Fellowship Program. Dr. James is now a research professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.
I don't even have to say how important this single ingenuity was to us. From the Iphones, computers, and sound equipment, the mic has benefited us all.