James Edward Maceo West

James Edward Maceo West is an African-American inventor and professor who developed a microphone component that is used in ninety percent of the microphones used today.

James E. West
Born	(1931-02-10) 10 February 1931 Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia
Citizenship	American
Awards	ASA Gold Medal (2006), National Medal of Technology and Innovation
Scientific career
Fields	physics
Institutions	Bell Labs Johns Hopkins University

Early life

West was born on February 10, 1931. From an early age, West liked to take things apart. After an accident with a radio he had tinkered with, he became very interested in the concept of electricity. West attended Temple University.

Public life

In 1960, West teamed up with a fellow scientist Gerard M. Sessler. They developed an inexpensive, compact microphone. It relied on their invention of electric transducers and became the industry standard.

West was appointed president-elect of the Acoustical Society of America in 1997. He joined the National Academy of Engineering in 1998. West retired in 2001

References

"James West". Biography.com. 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.