James West

James West is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering. He is renowned globally as co-inventor of the foil electret microphone, foundational to 90% of modern microphones. With over 60 U.S. patents and 200+ foreign patents, his career spans Bell Laboratories (1962–2001), where he pioneered polymer foil electret technologies. At Johns Hopkins since 2001, he focuses on teleconferencing acoustics, wearable health sensors, and energy harvesting. His research emphasizes biomedical applications like lung sound monitoring and telemedicine integration.

Education: B.S. in Physics from Temple University (1957). Awards include National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction. He actively mentors students, advocating for diversity in STEM. Key research areas include medical device innovation, acoustic transducers, and sustainable energy systems.

• Key Contributions: Electret microphone technology, lung sound sensors, and hybrid energy harvesters.
• Recent Focus: Acoustic-based disease detection (e.g., COVID-19 screening) and telehealth sensor integration.
• Labs/Teams: Healthcare Acoustics Research Team (HART), collaborating on medical acoustics and sensor development.

His work bridges academic and industrial innovation, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration. Current projects address noise suppression in clinical settings and wearable health monitoring systems.