Werner F. Auerbacher Oral History
Werner F. Auerbacher's career spans most of the
history of electronics, from the beginning of
radio to the present. First introduced to radio
engineering at the age of thirteen, he maintained a
passion for the field throughout his life. After
attending law school, he studied engineering at
technical universities in Heidelberg and Munich.
Following his brief employment with Philips in
Holland in 1936-1937, Auerbacher emigrated from
Germany to the United States. His early employment
in the US was with Pilot Radio among other radio
outlets. However, as a non-citizen when war broke
out, he was identified as an "enemy alien," and,
unable to obtain "top secret" clearance, he lost
his job. He secured a teaching position at the
Radio Television Institute where he provided both
educational training for the army and technical
guidance to the U.S. Government. After the war, he
returned to Pilot to work on FM converters and
televisions, and later joined Emerson working on a
variety of government projects, specifically in
the field of magnetics. When Auerbacher left
Emerson, he began his own consulting firm, and
continues to advise a number of domestic and
foreign companies. The interview ends with a brief
discussion of his involvement with IRE and IEEE.
| 1. |
Childhood in Germany; father came from
relatively uneducated family; mother came
from a highly educated family; related to
the Straus family (owned Macy's); early
interest in radio engineering |
| 2. |
Technical schooling in Munich and
Heidelberg; first job at Philips;
emigration to the United States |
| 3. |
First American job at Aerovox; first
radio job at Pilot Radio in 1938;
outbreak of WWII & identification as
an "enemy alien" resulted in loss of job
at Air King; obtained job as teacher at
the "Radio Television Institute";
obtained American citizenship |
| 4. |
Consulting work and educational training
for U.S. Government while at Radio
Television Institute; return to Pilot
Radio |
| 5. |
Membership in the National Television
Systems Committee; 1939 World's Fair;
continued education at Columbia and
Brooklyn Polytechnic |
| 6. |
Work on ten-inch television set at Pilot
Radio; development of FM converter |
| 7. |
FM converter for automobile radios;
development of a three-inch television
with high definition |
| 8. |
Competition with Motorola's five-inch
television; development of and
experimentation with Projection TV |
| 9. |
Marketing of tuner and amplifier at
Pilot |
| 10. |
Move to Emerson marked departure from
consumer electronics to government
electronics |
| 11. |
Work at Emerson in the engineering and
manufacturing of magnetics; company
politics at Emerson |
| 12. |
Decision to start private consulting
firm; esp. advising companies in Europe
how to set up sales offices in the United
States |
| 13. |
Expansion of consulting firm;
difficulties with transferring products
from Europe to the U.S. |
| 14. |
Connection and participation in IEEE |
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