Gerhard M. Sessler

Gerhard Sessler Martin (* February 15, 1931 in Rosenfeld, Baden- Württemberg) is a professor of electrical engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt, and also the inventor of the electret microphone and the silicon microphone.

G. Sessler studied physics in Freiburg, Munich and Göttingen, where he received his diploma in 1957 and in 1959 received his doctorate. Shortly after his graduation, he moved to the U.S. and conducted research there at Bell Labs, where he was from 1967 to 1975 Head of the Acoustics Research Department. Together with his collaborator JE West 1962 he invented the electret microphone, the 1964 patent was granted. Electret now own a share of 90 % of all produced microphones and can be found for example in camcorders and mobile phones.

Sessler in 1975 became a professor of electrical engineering at the TH Darmstadt. There he developed with his colleagues in the 1980s, the silicon microphone.

Gerhard Sessler is married and has three children.

Awards

  • George R. Stibitz Trophy, AT & T, 1993
  • Helmholtz Medal of DEGA, German Acoustical Society, 1993
  • Silver Helmholtz -Rayleigh Medal of the Acoustical Society of America, 1997
  • Inclusion in the National Inventors Hall of Fame of the United States, 1999
  • Technology Award of the Eduard Rhein Foundation, 2007
  • VDE Ring of Honour of the Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technology, 2008
  • Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute, 2010
  • IEEE / RSE James Clerk Maxwell Award, 2012
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Integrated Authority File
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