Speech Processing Pioneer Bishnu Saroop Atal Dies at 93

Bishnu Saroop Atal
Acoustics and signal processing pioneer
Life Fellow, 93; died 19 August

Atal was an acoustics and signal processing researcher at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, N.J., and later at AT&T’s Shannon Laboratory, in Florham Park, N.J. His pioneering work on voice-coding techniques became the foundation for efficient, high-quality voice transmission over cellular networks. He received the 2013 IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal for “fundamental and pioneering contributions to speech coding.”

He joined Bell Labs in 1961 as a communications researcher, and his early work there focused on speaker identification technology. During the 1960s he helped develop linear predictive coding, a powerful method for analyzing and compressing speech. LPC is now the most widely used method for encoding speech at a low bit rate.

Atal developed increasingly sophisticated low-bit-rate speech-coding techniques. They included multipulse LPC, which improved the quality of compressed speech.

Bishnu Saroop AtalNokia Bell Labs

He also worked with his colleague Manfred R. Schroeder to develop code-excited linear prediction, a method for producing high-quality speech at very low bit rates. CELP became a foundational technique in modern speech coding, letting digital communications systems carry voice using less bandwidth. The extra efficiency expanded cellular capacity, allowing wireless networks to handle more simultaneous calls.

Later in his career, he led the acoustics and speech research departments at Bell.

The company named him a Fellow in 1994. When AT&T Bell Laboratories split into separate research organizations in 1996, Atal continued his career at the AT&T Florham Park headquarters, and he was named a Fellow the following year.

He retired in 2002 and became an affiliate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington, in Seattle. There he continued his research in speech processing, speech recognition, and high-dimensional computing.

Atal was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1987 and the National Academy of Sciences in 1993. He received numerous awards including the 2018 International Speech Communication Association Medal for Scientific Achievement and a 2003 medal from the Franklin Institute.

He received a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1952 from the University of Lucknow, in India, and a master’s degree in 1955 in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, in Bengaluru. While working full time at Bell he earned a Ph.D. in EE in 1968 from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now New York University’s Tandon engineering school), in New York City.

Darryl Palmer Jr.
Chair of the IEEE Central Illinois Section
Senior member, 55; died 30 August

Palmer was a dedicated IEEE volunteer, serving as chair of the Central Illinois Section and as the government relations chair of Region 4. He was a member of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society and its industrial activity committee. He also served as associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics.

In 1986, at age 16, Palmer completed a summer internship at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, in Cleveland. He helped develop FoilSim, an interactive educational software program that introduces aerodynamic engineering to preuniversity students.

While studying computer science at Cleveland State University in 1996, he joined the university’s Allen-Bradley PLC lab as a research assistant. He designed hardware and software systems for the Glenn Research Center to collect and process thermal wave imaging data. He also designed software for General Motors’ North American robotic and welding division.

In 1999 he completed a second internship at the research center and helped develop EngineSim, an educational software program that models jet engine design and testing.

For his work, NASA recognized him with a Space Act Award.

In 2000 he earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science and became a software engineer at the Danfoss Drives manufacturing facility in Loves Park, Ill. He worked on embedded control systems for variable-frequency drives and high-power equipment. He also developed sensorless control technology for beam pumps used in the oil and gas industry.

In 2014 Palmer and his wife, Alexandra “Sasha” Goodwin, founded Janus Choice, a health technology platform that matches hospital patients with post-acute care facilities. He served as its CEO until the company closed in 2020.

From 2018 to 2023, he was a lead software engineer at Adept Coalescence, a startup in Rockford, Ill., focused on developing front-end software for control systems. He then worked in Peoria, Ill., as a control systems team lead at Caterpillar, a manufacturer of construction and mining equipment.

Henry Leopold Richter
Telecommunications engineer
Life senior member, 99; died 12 August

Richter was a spacecraft engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif., before starting his own public safety communications consultancy.

He earned a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. at Caltech in 1952 and 1956, respectively. In 1955 he joined JPL as an engineer and supervisor of its new circuit elements group. Later, he was assigned to NASA’s Explorer program as project manager for satellite design, serving as a liaison between the organization’s satellite instrumentation group and its operations and data groups. Since 1958 the program has launched more than 90 missions for physics, geophysics, and astrophysics research.

As NASA prepared to launch Explorer 1 in January 1958, Richter worked with the San Gabriel Valley Radio Club in Los Angeles to set up stations across the United States to track the satellite.

He eventually was named JPL section chief and was responsible for scientific instruments on the lunar Ranger, Surveyor, and Mariner programs. He also helped develop NASA’s Deep Space Network, an international tracking and communications system.

Richter left NASA to become vice president and technical director of Xerox Electro-Optical Systems, in Pasadena, Calif.

In the mid-1970s, he joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as a communications engineer, overseeing the department’s microwave and mobile radio networks.

He later ran a telecommunications consulting practice for more than 20 years. His clients included federal, state, and local government agencies, school districts, universities, and organizations. His work covered strategic technology planning and the design and implementation of public safety radio, microwave, CCTV, and paging systems.

He wrote several books including America’s Leap Into Space: My Time at JPL and the First Explorer Satellites (2015), a personal account of his experience working on the Explorer 1 and America’s space program.

In 2019 the Radio Club of America presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award for “significant achievements and a major body of work that has advanced the art and science of wireless technology.”

Raymond L. Giordano
Former RCA engineer
Life member, 91; died 19 July

Giordano was an electrical engineer who designed integrated circuits and defense electronics at companies including Harris, Intersil, and RCA.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1956 from the Newark College of Engineering (now the New Jersey Institute of Technology), Giordano joined RCA in Moorestown, N.J., as an engineer. He helped develop a video formatter for the company’s missile and surface radar division, and he taught in-house engineering courses, eventually attaining the rank of senior technical staff member.

Later he developed technologies for General Electric (which acquired RCA in 1986), Intersil, and Harris. He designed the circuitry for Kodak’s Cameo cameras and one of its laser printers.

Giordano was awarded several patents for his designs including a smoke detector chip for Siemens, a speed control chip for Ford, an engine control system for Delco Remy, and a control component for Chrysler.

He earned a master’s degree in EE in 1964 from the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

Delano D. Wilson
President of Power Technologies
Life Fellow, 92; died 26 May

Wilson was president and CEO of Power Technologies, a consulting firm in Schenectady, N.Y., that specialized in electric power systems.

He was a director of R&D at General Electric in Schenectady until he joined Power Technologies in 1974 as a principal engineer. He developed utility systems and software for the company.

Wilson authored six books and 65 technical papers, and he held two patents.

Outside of his engineering work, he served on the boards of several hospitals, YMCAs, Rotary clubs, and chambers of commerce.

After returning to his hometown of Great Falls, Mont., in 1995, he volunteered as a court-appointed advocate, a trained community volunteer appointed by a judge to represent the interests of children in foster care.

Daniel I. Amey Jr.
Electronic packaging engineer
Life Fellow, 84; died 12 March

Amey was an electronic packaging engineer, working at several companies including General Dynamics, Sperry Univac, and E.I. du Pont de Nemours (now DuPont). His research interests included connectors, chip packages, and high-frequency materials.

He began his career in 1963 as an engineer in the General Dynamics electronics division, where he designed military electronic hardware including analog and digital support equipment for aerospace applications.

In 1967 he joined Sperry Univac in Blue Bell, Pa. From 1972 to 1981 he was engineering manager of packaging techniques, responsible for interconnection hardware for small and medium computer systems. His work focused on large-scale integration packages, hybrid circuits, connectors, and printed wiring board processes.

He left the company to serve as director of electronics technology at Thomas & Betts of Raritan, N.J. He led research and development of packaging and interconnection products there.

In 1986 he became a director of Elco, an electrical component manufacturer in Huntingdon, Pa., where he was responsible for the design and development of connector and packaging hardware.

In 1988 he joined E.I. du Pont de Nemours as director of its electronics and communications technology group in Research Triangle Park, N.C. He worked on packaging technology development, high-frequency materials characterization, and applications engineering. He retired from there as a research fellow.

Amey wrote or cowrote more than 70 technical papers and held more than 14 patents. He developed courses on electronic packaging and printed wiring technology for education companies McGraw-Hill and Cobblestone (formerly the Center for Professional Advancement).

He received the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society’s 2004 Wagnon Technical Achievement Award and the Electronic Industries Association’s 1984 Distinguished Engineering Contribution Award.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in engineering science from Pennsylvania State University, he earned an MBA from Lehigh University, in Bethlehem, Pa.