Dr. James West is an inventor and Johns Hopkins professor still working at an age where most would be content with retirement. Now 84, Dr. West helped to develop the electret microphone, which forms the basis for technology used in over 90 percent of modern devices, including microphones, camcorders and other recording devices.
James Edward Maceo West was born on February 10, 1931 in Farmville, Va. As a young boy, West became enamored with electronics due to an accident with a radio. But West’s parents pushed their son to become a physician because of Jim Crow and racism which made it difficult for him to achieve his scientist dreams.
But he persevered, completing his coursework at Temple University in 1957 in Physics. After working at Bell Laboratories as a summer intern in the Acoustics Research Department in the New Jersey-based facility, West was subsequently hired as an acoustical scientist. This was despite the fact that, according to one account, West never obtained his actual bachelor’s degree from Temple despite taking both bachelor and master degree courses.
In 1960, alongside fellow Bell scientist Gerhard M. Sessler, West developed in an inexpensive compact microphone using electret transducers. The foil electret microphone became the industry standard by 1968 and was put into mass production after the scientists patented the invention. Although the technology has been improved upon in modern times, most scientists and acousticians give credit to West and Sessler for paving the way.
In 1997, West was appointed the president-elect of the Acoustical Society of America and joined the National Academy of Engineering. West retired from Bell in 2001 after 40 years of service and joined John Hopkins’ Whiting School of Engineering, passing on his drive for innovation to the next generation of scientists.
In 2006, West was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. In 2010, he and Sessler were both honored with The Franklin Institute’s Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering. West is also a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame among other awards and honors.
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