Frederic Paul Heiman

1939 - 2020

Frederic Paul Heiman
March 23, 1939 - April 9, 2020
Resident of Los Gatos, California
Frederic Paul Heiman, 81, passed away at his home with his beloved wife of 41 years, Peggy, at his side. He was an engineer and physicist, who helped develop several technologies that are now a part of everyday life. Over Fred's 35-year career, he won numerous awards, and held over 50 patents. His life was filled with extraordinary richness of family, friends, travel and adventure, projects and inventions, sports cars, music and wildlife.
Fred was born in the Bronx and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Fred's first love was music, and he became a proficient trumpet player in his youth, playing gigs at weddings, bar mitzvahs and jazz clubs. The thrill of jam sessions soon gave way to the exhilaration of scientific discovery as he turned to science and technology, graduating summa cum laude from City College of New York with an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering.
In 1962, while pursuing his PhD in solid-state physics from Princeton University, and working at RCA Laboratories, Fred was the co-inventor of the first working MOS integrated circuit, incorporating 16 transistors.
After leaving RCA Fred became the head of Mars Electronics, a division of the Mars Candy Company. His team at Mars developed the first fully electronic coin mechanism for use in vending machines.
While working at Symbol Technologies in the early 1990's Fred led a team to create one of the first mobile handheld computers - complete with operating system, applications, wireless connectivity and a built-in bar code scanner. It was called the "integrated scanning terminal," and was a precursor to smart phones, which would be introduced 15 years later. At this time, Fred became a prominent figure in the creation of the 802.11 IEEE standard for LAN communications, later known as Wi-Fi. Fred and Symbol wrote the first Wi-Fi specification, developed the first Wi-Fi chips and released the first products. He retired from Symbol in 1999.
Fred met and married Peggy, the love of his life, in Philadelphia and they embarked on their life of adventure. In 1983 they moved to California, where both worked at Intel Corporation. Life in California led to a love of scuba diving and underwater videography. Fred and Peggy traveled the world in search of sea creatures large and small. Fred garnered recognition from the international underwater photography community, including the Stan Waterman Award for Excellence in Underwater Videography. Fred developed a passion for wildlife, ultimately traveling to over 60 countries to film and photograph most of the major animal species in their natural habitats. Fred's YouTube channel includes many of his wildlife and underwater films, with one "Lions of the Kalahari" garnering over 1.2 million views.
Music never left his life, and it was opera that fueled his passion in his retirement years. Fred and Peggy used their skills to film every opera produced by Opera San José to create promotional videos and commercials. Fred served as Vice President of the Board of Trustees, as well as Chair of the Long-Range Planning Committee.
Woodworking became a passion of Fred's during his retirement. He challenged himself, using his love of art and technology to design and build intricate, original pieces, which fill the homes of his beloved family.
Fred was first and foremost, the patriarch and leader of his extended family. He led by example, with kindness, generosity, warmth and compassion. Graced with many talents and a wellspring of love, Fred leaves behind a beautiful legacy of technological innovations, wood sculptures, wildlife videos and records of annual family get-togethers.
He will be greatly missed by his loving wife Peggy and their children; Susan Fitzgerald (Mike), Lynn Newman (George), Rachel Heiman, Mitchell Levy (Alex), Stuart Levy (Christine), Lauren Skye (Eric) and his grandchildren, Claire (Christopher), Lily, Duncan, Sophie, Willa, Taylor, Madison and Ethan.
Family and friends will gather at a later date to remember and celebrate Fred's life. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Fred's memory to Opera San José.


View the online memorial for Frederic Paul Heiman