Amar-Bose-Obituary

Amar Bose

Obituary

BOSTON (AP) — Acoustics pioneer Amar Bose, founder and chairman of the audio technology company Bose Corp., known for the rich sound of its small tabletop radios and its noise-canceling headphones popular among frequent fliers, has died at age 83.

Bose's death was announced Friday by the company's president, Bob Maresca, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Bose began his acoustics research and was on the faculty for more than 40 years.

Details about Bose's death weren't immediately available.

Bose founded the company, based in Framingham, just outside Boston, in 1964. Maresca said the company will remain privately held.

"Dr. Bose founded Bose Corporation almost 50 years ago with a set of guiding principles centered on research and innovation," Maresca said in a written statement. "That focus has never changed."

The company's products include elegant Wave system radios boasting "lifelike, room-filling sound," cushioned QuietComfort headphones for reducing background noises such as airplane engines, home theater accessories and computer speakers.

In 2011, Bose gave MIT the majority of Bose Corp. stock in the form of non-voting shares whose dividends are used to support education and research. MIT does not participate in management or governance of the company.

Bose, who was born and raised in Philadelphia to parents who were natives of India, received his bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate from MIT, all in electrical engineering.

Bose was asked to join the faculty in 1956, and he accepted with the intention of teaching for no more than two years, the university said. He continued as a member of the MIT faculty until 2001.

The university said Bose made his mark in research and in teaching.

Bose started a research program in physical acoustics and psychoacoustics, leading to the development of patents in acoustics, electronics, nonlinear systems and communication theory.

"As long as there are interesting problems to solve, I'll stay active," Bose said in a 2005 interview.

MIT President L. Rafael Reif called Bose "an extraordinarily gifted leader."

"He made quality mentoring and a joyful pursuit of excellence, ideas and possibilities the hallmark of his career in teaching, research and business," Reif said in a statement.

Bose loved teaching, said his son, Vanu G. Bose.

"While my father is well known for his success as an inventor and businessman, he was first and foremost a teacher," the son said. "I could not begin to count the number of people I've met who've told me that my father was the best professor they ever had."

Bose was given many awards and honors during his lifetime. He was a Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar, an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

In the 2005 interview, Bose said he tried to let his curiosity be a guiding principle as he demonstrated an experimental, Bose Corp.-designed car suspension system.

"Even our financial people were trying to get the engineers to discourage me, because they all saw money going into it," said Bose, a lifelong tinkerer who began repairing radios as a teenager. "But some things you just believe in."

STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press


Copyright © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

Thank you Dr Bose for all your personal support for a small company in Northern California.
It was a great privilege meeting you and for your encouragement at a time when our visions coelesced. Thanks also to Mr Greenblatt for your help and interest.
Most of all, thanks for producing such a wonderful product.

Michael S Barton
Retired president. California Builder Distributors.

Amar Bose, you changed the way I listen to music.
"Sound has a way to touch our feelings," You knew that long before anybody else. And 901 was born and the rest is history."

Thank you also for the wave radio technology and noise cancellation headsets. My life is free of cluttered noise. Thank you.

Therefore, I see you as a friend. Good-bye my friend, Good-bye."
Bipin Patel (Orlando,FL)

I am truly sorry about the loss of your father. My condolence go out to family and friends that he will be missed by many keep his memory alive and look toward God to help you through this time who comforts us in all our trials through Jesus Christ our Lord. Sincerely! In the Paradise earth. Mary j Wilson

I love radio I don't watch t.v. Thank You Mr.Bose for your life time commitment to radio, and it's transmissions & how you masterd the speaker for our enjoyment God Bless You Mr.Amar Bose I'll be listening to you for a long time coming Thank You!!!

"The scribe said to him: Teacher, you spoke well, in line with truth,' He is One, and there is no other besides him'; and to love him with one's whole heart, with one's whole understanding, and with one's whole strength and to love one's neighbor as oneself is worth far more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices"...Mark 12:30-33
Amar must have had such a love of neighbor; why else would he have given so much time and self to teaching them otherwise. He left a...

My husband and I have two Bose systems and love them both. They have a fantastic sound. The family has my deepest sympathy but you also have the remembrance of listing to great music on the Bose and thinking about Mr. Bose. May he sleep in peace.

I only just found out about Dr Bose. I worked for him on The Mountain during some of the earlier days 1972-1977, so I got to know him more personally. A great man -passionate about his work and his young family :). I always saw him with a smile on his face and a big hello! A great legacy left behind. I so admired that man.

Dr. Amar Bose and the Bose Corporation have been supporters of the Museum of Science for many years, and on behalf of our entire community I wish to express our condolences in the loss of one of technologies champions and in the loss of a personal friend. Visiting the Museum often with his children, Dr. Bose observed, understood, and advocated for the value of STEM learning in shaping the future of our youth. We value Dr. Bose's legacy in the world of informal science and engineering...