Auditory Physicist- “Acoustician” James E. West Helped Develop the Electret Microphone
James E. West is an American acoustician who was born in Virginia in 1931. He is best known for the development of the electret microphone. A variety of electronic devices, such as telephones, hearing aids, and microphones for musical instruments, widely use it now. West joined Bell Labs in 1962, where he conducted research on the development of improved microphones. Together with his colleague Gerhard Sessler, they developed the electret microphone. This uses a permanent electric charge to generate a signal, rather than relying on a power source. It allowed them to make it smaller, more reliable, and less expensive to produce than other types of microphones.