Baum, Howard R.
Oral history interview with Howie Baum, 2020 January 14.
In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Mr. Howard Baum, a retired mechanical engineer. He discusses his volunteer work with the Cincinnati VA Medical Center and his interest in helping volunteers transition back to civilian life with computer training. He recounts his childhood in Cincinnati, and he discusses his education at the University of Cincinnati, where he focused on industrial design. Baum describes his work in a variety of industries after he graduated, and he explained the value of drafting in the 1970s. He discusses his involvement with OSHA and safety protocols during his work for the Clovernook Center for the Blind, and he describes how the major shift of overseas production happened gradually and how it affected him personally. Baum describes his career as a college professor of ergonomics, and at the end of the interview, he reflects on all of the design work he was able to do prior to the era of computer-aided design.
American mechanical engineer. Ph.D. applied mathematics, Harvard University (1964). Fellow in the Engineered Fire Safety Group of the Fire Research Division (FRD) of the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Professional achievements include: Awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal Award in 1981 and a Gold Medal Award in 1985; Named Russell Severance Springer Visiting Professor at the University of California, Berkeley in 1985; Awarded a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship in 1994 for a visit to the University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science; Received the Medal of Excellence from the International Association for Fire Safety Science in 1991 and 1999; Awarded the 1999 Arthur B. Guise Medal of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers; Elected a Fellow and Chartered Physicist of the Institute of Physics in 1999; Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2000.
Baum, Howard R.
Clovernook Center for the Blind
University of Cincinnati.
United States. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Industrial design
Industrial hygiene
Industrial safety
Mechanical engineering.
Interviews. aat
Oral histories. aat
Transcripts. aat
Cincinnati VA Medical Center
Zierler, David, 1979-, interviewer.
AIP-ICOS
American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA