An Unquenchable Curiosity

Today's Innovators

Murray Hill, N.J. (January 2000) -- Jim West, who was the 1998-1999 president of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), is by nature a curious individual. As a youngster, his fascination with mechanical things and astronomy made him eager to unlock the mysteries of the world around him.

A neighbor, who later would become West's high school math teacher, helped him to understand the principles that were unfamiliar and challenging, yet fun to West.

Today, West, a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs, continues to use math and his sense of wonderment to tackle the scientific and business challenges in the ever-expanding field of acoustics. "In this age of computers, companies are giving customers more options, including ease of use, increased power and more applications," West says. "But sound quality is becoming just as important."

Supporting Acoustical Systems

Much of his time now is being spent providing technical support to Lucent's Intelligent Acoustics Systems, a new business enterprise. To date, IAS has created five new products that are used as computer peripherals. The latest product is the Talkbak 3, a full-duplex acoustic peripheral for hands-free video conferencing that is considered the best device on the market for stereo listening.

Jim West, Bell Labs DMTS at Murray Hill, is the new president-elect of the ASA.

West is perhaps best known, however, for his contributions to the foil-electret microphone, which he co-invented with Gerhard Sessler in 1962. Nearly 90 percent of all microphones built today are based on the principles of the foil-electret.

In addition, he holds 40 U.S. patents and more than 100 outside the U.S., and has authored or contributed to more than 100 technical papers and several books on acoustics, solid-state physics and materials science.

40-Year Career

After spending a few summers working at Bell Labs as an intern while attending Temple University in Philadelphia, West joined the company in 1957 after graduation. One of the first things that stood out in his mind back then were how few women and people of color were in the technical ranks.

"One of my biggest personal accomplishments was becoming a founding member of the Association of Black Labs Employees (ABLE)," he says, proudly. "It included most of the black employees -- from the technical community to the housekeeping staff -- about 25 total. And it was out of this that the Cooperative Research Fellowship Program and the Summer Research Program for college students were born."

President-elect of ASA

West's recent election as president of the ASA, the latest of many highlights of a long and distinguished career, makes him the fifth Bell Labs scientist to receive the honor. It follows his winning the ASA's silver medal in engineering acoustics in 1995. He also received an honorary doctorate from the New Jersey Institute of Technology earlier this year.

When not "having fun" in Murray Hill, West spends time encouraging young people who are considering science and technology as a career. His mentoring includes that of his 10-year-old daughter, who, West says, "is interested in everything, but insists she'd like to be President someday."

He adds, "That's okay with me...she can be the first U.S. President with a Ph.D. in math or physics."