West, James E., 1931-
Oral history interview with James West, 2019 May 16.
In this interview organized through the Acoustical Society of America, the discussion begins with Wests experiences as a member of the society before moving into his family background and youth in Virginia, education at Hampton Institute and Temple University, and military service in the Korean War. West describes his employment with Bell Labs and his work on the electret microphone, for which he and Gerhard Sessler would be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He also discusses his experiences as a Black member of the technical staff at Bell Labs, the importance of being in a research environment with people of similar backgrounds, and the creation and successes of the Association of Black Laboratory Employees (ABLE). West further describes his work in the acoustics of concert halls and hospitals and on the design of devices for taking medical measurements. The interview concludes with West highlighting his work during his presidency of ASA to expand its reach in Latin America and to attract and support people of Hispanic origin to acoustics.
James Edward West is an American inventor and acoustician. He studied at Hampton University and Temple University. West worked at Bell Laboratories for 40 years and was named a Bell Laboratories Fellow. He previously served as the president of the Acoustical Society of America.
Gross, Bernhard, 1905-
Sessler, G. M. (Gerhard Martin), 1931-
West, James E., 1931-
Acoustical Society of America
Bell Telephone Laboratories
Hampton University (Va.)
Johns Hopkins University
Temple University
Acoustics -- Research.
African American inventors.
African American scientists.
Electrets -- Research.
Korean War, 1950-1953.
Microphone.
Sound
Interviews. aat
Oral histories. aat
Transcripts. aat
Busch-Vishniac, Ilene, interviewer.
AIP-ICOS
American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA