Manfred R. Schroeder | i |
 
last name: Schroeder
first name: Manfred R.
also known as: Manfred R. Schroeder
birthday: July 12, 1926
birth-place: Ahlen (Germany)
death date: December 28, 2009
died in: Göttingen (Germany)
Summary

Manfred Robert Schröder was a German physicist, most known for his contributions to acoustics and computer graphics. He has written three books, published over 150 articles in his field and has recieved 45 U.S. patents.

He became interested in computer graphics during his time as the director of the Acoustics and Speech Research Laboratory at the Bell Labs. Working with Leon Harmon and Knowlton, Ken with the goal of using computers for creating images that could not otherwise be drawn or painted.His aim was to generate pictures that would be perceived as totally different depending on the viewing distance. His prize-winning ‘One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words’ looked like printed letters and English text from nearby but from a further viewing distances ir resembled a human eye.

Several of his computer graphics are based on number-theoretic relationships and prime numbers. Under Harmon, Leon’s influence he soon became interested in computer graphics for purely artistic purposes along with Noll, A. Michael and Julesz, Bela .

He had also designed the poster for the Brooklyn Museum show “Some More Beginnings—Experiments in Art and Technology” which displayed the entrance to the museum composed of text announcing the show.

He had invented the voice-excited vocoder (VEV), the first vocoder that eschewed the customary electronic accent of synthetic speech.

His research with Bishnu Atal resulted in linear predictive coding (LPC), which has become the method of choice for digital speech coding. By introducing the properties of the human ear into speech coders, high-quality speech at very low bit rates was achieved.

His use of digital computers as a signal generator and electronic filter allowed him, Gerhard Sessler, and James West to perform precise measurements, closely tailored to human perception, of the acoustical properties of Philharmonic Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, and other enclosures.

Biography

1947-52 Studied at the University of Göttingen, Germany.
1951 Recieved a diploma in Mathematics.
1954 Recieved a Phd. in physics specialising in acoustics.
1954 onwards Came to USA and joined the technical staff at Bell Labs , New Jersey, researching speech compression and computer graphics. He secured forty-five patents during this time.
1958 Appointed head of the acoustics research department at Bell Labs.
1963 Became director of the Acoustics and Speech Research Laboratory and assumed responsibility for all areas of acoustics and ultrasonic research at Bell Laboratories.
1969 Won the first Prize at the International Computer Art Competition for his application of concepts from mathematics and physics to the creation of artistic works.
1969 Joined University of Göttingen as Universitätsprofessor Physik and became professor emeritus in 1991.
1972 Recieved fellowship of the Audio Engineering Society and a Gold medal.
1975 Max Planck Society appointed foreign scientific member.
1991 ASA Gold Medal for theoretical and practical contributions to human communication through innovative application of mathematics to speech, hearing, and concert hall acoustics.
2004 International Speech Communication Association Medal for Scientic Achievement.
Member of institutions
Illustrations
Comments
anonymous
posted almost 2 years ago
Looking for information about my former boss at Bell Labs, Dr. Manfred R. Schroeder, I chanced upon this website. I was appalled to find a number of pieces of digital art that I created there in the 1960's, without giving credit to me. Except for Brooklyn Museum, Eikonal, Joanna I-III and Leprosy, all the rest shown above were created by me. At the time, I was known by my maiden name, Suzanne (Sue) Hanauer. I hope you will correct this injustice. Thank you in advance. Suzanne L. Erlanger Petach-Tikvah, Israel
enter new comment
Please, be adviced that you are entering your text into a database, not into a social network! By entering a comment, you add to the database. We much appreciate comments making us aware of errors or deficiencies.