Dr. Amar Gopal Bose, audio industry pioneer and founder of Bose Corp., passed away at age 83.
Dr. Amar Gopal Bose.
Dr. Bose, who was company chairman, founded his namesake company in 1964 when he was a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a doctorate, all in electrical engineering, from MIT, which asked him to join the faculty in 1956. He accepted with the intention of teaching for no more than two years, MIT said on its website, but Dr. Bose continued as a member of the faculty until 2001.
In the 1950s, Dr. Bose determined that loudspeakers didn’t deliver what he described as natural sound, and in 1956, he began to conduct extensive research into physical acoustics and psychoacoustics, the company said. The research led to the development of patents in acoustics, electronics, nonlinear systems and communication theory.
Dr. Bose’s research ultimately led to the formation of Bose Corp. (See the blog by senior editor Joseph Palenchar for Dr. Bose’s thoughts on how he came to launch his company and his initial experiences in the home audio industry.)
Today, Bose employs 10,000 people worldwide and posts revenues of more than $2.8 billion, a spokesperson said.
In 2011, Dr. Bose gave the majority of Bose stock to MIT in the form of nonvoting shares, MIT said. Dividends from those shares are used by MIT to advance MIT’s education and research mission. MIT cannot sell its Bose shares and does not participate in company management or governance, MIT said.
“Dr. Bose founded Bose Corporation almost 50 years ago with a set of guiding principles centered on research and innovation,” said Bose president Bob Maresca. “That focus has never changed, and never will. Bose Corporation will remain privately held and stay true to Dr. Bose’s ideals. We are as committed to this as he was to us.”
Maresca continued, “Today and every day going forward, our hearts are with Dr. Bose, and we will do everything we can to make him proud of the company he built.”
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