October is Black History Month, and we mark the occasion by shining the light on the pioneering contributions of a remarkable innovator: James Edward Maceo West. By utilizing Dimensions, we’ve explored the rich data on the patents he has filed and been granted throughout his career, showcasing the lasting impact of his groundbreaking work.
James Edward Maceo West
James West, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, is recognized worldwide for co-inventing the foil electret microphone. This condenser microphone is the foundation for approximately 90 percent of all microphones used today, including those in telephones, music recording equipment, and hearing aids. West developed this innovation alongside his research partner Gerhard Sessler in 1962 while both were scientists at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hills, New Jersey in the United States.
Over his 40-year career at Bell Laboratories, where he worked as an acoustical scientist, West secured more than 60 U.S. patents related to polymer foil electrets in transducers. He has also authored or contributed to over 150 technical papers and several books covering topics such as acoustics, solid-state physics, and materials science.
Figure 1: Data from Dimensions shows that West contributed to 116 patent filings, including his early work at Bell.
Upon retiring from Bell in 2001, West joined Johns Hopkins University, moving into an academic role. At Johns Hopkins, his research focuses on enhancing teleconferencing technology through the transmission of stereophonic sound over the internet and the development of new transducers. (see Figure 2).
A fellow of IEEE, West was the recipient of the 2006 National Medal of Technology and is an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Figure 2: A look at the more recent research contributions by West.
The patent data in Dimensions is provided by Digital Science portfolio company IFI CLAIMS. The focus of the patent data in Dimensions is to provide a downstream view on how research funding is impacting and enabling the commercial protection of intellectual property and the potential commercial use of research results. Do you want to learn more about how to use Dimensions data to understand the path from research to patents? Then don’t hesitate to contact the Dimensions team.
*Pictures of James Edward Maceo West used with permission from Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University.