Intelligence + Community = Creativity

Abstract

The invention of the electret microphone illustrates the power of an environment that promotes creativity in technology. The art of understanding is almost a given, considering the educational requirements for entry-level positions in most research communities. However, creativity, even among enlightened people, is not a foregone conclusion. Creativity is a fragile process. Management with research experience and a free and an open multidisciplinary research community are needed for creativity to thrive. Labs is such a community, with a long history of creative discoveries that have contributed to the improved quality of life for all. I am fortunate to be a part of this community because it has given me the opportunity to not only contribute to several technical fields, but also to contribute to improving diversity. I share here some of my personal experiences in this community. is one for Labs. It's not for me. It could not have been done anywhere else but Labs. I share this with all of you. This is a quote from Horst Stormer when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his contribution to the fractional quantum Hall effect. The prize was shared by Robert Laughlin and Daniel Tsui who worked with Horst to earn Labs its third Nobel Prize in physics in as many years. A quote from Laughlin: Bell Laboratories is highly unusual in sponsoring the kind of pure scientific research that has earned its scientists more Nobels than all but a handful of nations. Most industrial research is conducted under total secrecy so that the sponsoring company can benefit from exclusive use of any inventions that result. Each of these quotes reflects my sentiments. 55 Special People There are many unique features about Labs, and the nice thing is that these features are flexible depending on need. Let me begin by first acknowledging the more than 55 collaborators with whom I have had the benefit of publishing over the years. Most of them are at Labs, but some are with universities in the United States, Europe, Brazil, and Japan. Together we have over 100 publications and more than 40 patents on various aspects of polymer charging and electro-acoustic transducers. All of my collaborators are very special people, usually in scientific disciplines quite different from my own. Several stand out and must be mentioned here. My collaboration with Prof. Gerhard Sessler, now at The University of Darmstadt, started when he was a Member of Technical Staff at Labs. Together, we proposed the ideas around the electret microphone. We have continued our collaboration up to the present time. More than 50 publications and 15 patents on electroacoustic transducers and various methods of polymer conditioning are the results of our lifelong partnership. Since Sessler's departure form Labs, we still spend time together both at the Technical University of Darmstadt and at Labs. The study of the electronic behavior of polymers and its application to electroacoustics is truly a multidisciplinary task requiring knowledge in polymer science, electrical and mechanical properties of polymers, and acoustics. We were also interested in charge storage in polymers as applied to biomedical fields such as cell growth under weak electrical fields, and the use of special electret transducers for the non-invasive measurement of the human cardiovascular system. The use of electrets in air filtration and as memory devices was also of great interest. Humidity Always Interfered Electrets, best described as the electrical analog of a permanent magnet, have been around since the 1920s when Eguchi coined the term, but references go back as early as the 1700s when Sir Francis Gray recorded the behavior of a pith ball suspended over a wax mixture that had been solidified in an iron container. Gray observed that the distance the ball deflected depended on the relative humidity. …