Amar Bose

Amar Bose was a pioneer in modern acoustics. Both an electrical engineer and a sound engineer, he advanced the electronics industry with revolutionary audio products and became the founder, chairman and technical director of the internationally recognized audio company Bose Corp.

Born in Philadelphia in 1929, Bose studied violin as a child, and he developed a passion for classical music, electronics and the science of sound. He also began building his entrepreneurial skills at 13, when he enlisted school friends as co-workers in repairing radios in his parents’ basement. His father ran an import business, and when the business faltered during World War II, Bose helped support their family through his radio repair work. In fact, his business became one of the largest radio repair services in the area through the war. “I could build these things and get them to work, but I couldn’t design them,” Bose said. “I wanted very much to know what the theory was behind all of this.”

His growing interest in technology led Bose to accept a full scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he studied electrical engineering. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1951, his master’s degree in 1952 and his doctorate in 1956. Bose celebrated his graduation by buying himself a new hi-fi stereo system – but he found the sound quality lacking.

In 1956, Bose accepted a teaching position at MIT, where he would continue teaching electrical engineering and computer science until 2001. There, he began to research the psychoacoustics of sound in his spare time. This research led him to develop and patent new technologies across the fields of acoustics, nonlinear systems and power electronics. In 1964, he founded Bose Corp. and began handling contract work for the U.S. military, NASA and other government agencies.

Bose Corp.’s first consumer product, the 2201, was introduced in 1966. This unconventional loudspeaker featuring 22 transducers was a technical achievement but it did not succeed commercially. To perform properly, the speaker required two empty corners in the room where it was placed, and this was not ideal for the majority of consumers. However, Bose persevered.

Bose Corp.’s reputation grew drastically with the release of the bestselling Bose 901 Direct/Reflecting speaker system in 1968. This system offered a fuller, more realistic sound through bookshelf-sized speakers. “What made the 901 so different was that the sound was not aimed at you, but away from you, toward the walls. It was then reflected by the wall, which provided this very large sound stage,” explained Bose Corp. research engineer John Wawrzonek. “The first time I listened to the 901, it blew me away.” Bose Corp. continued to advance the home audio industry with 301 speakers, noise-reducing headphones and the Wave Radio, which the company introduced after 14 years of research and development.

In the 1970s, Bose Corp. introduced the 800 Professional speaker for musicians and the 1401 speaker for automobiles. Though Bose stopped production on the 1401 because it was an aftermarket system that left the company no way to control a vehicle’s acoustics quality after installation, Bose did not stop pursuing automotive audio. In fact, in 1982 the company teamed up with ACDelco to develop customized sound systems for vehicles.

Not only did Bose achieve worldwide acclaim with the success of his groundbreaking products, but under his leadership, 100% of Bose Corp.’s profits were reinvested back into the company, enabling advancements in nonaudio areas as well. For instance, in 2004, after 25 years of research, he introduced a revolutionary automotive suspension system that combines superior comfort and control in the same vehicle.

Discussing his greatest ideas, Bose said, “These innovations are not the result of rational thought; it’s an intuitive idea. But if it’s a sophisticated idea, then you need to apply all the rational tools to determine whether, and how, it can be done.”

Today, Bose Corp. continues to offer leading electronics products including iPhone docks, surround-sound home entertainment speaker systems and noise-reducing headphones. Bose Corp. loudspeakers also are used globally, from the Sistine Chapel to Olympic stadiums. Bose has received many awards for his revolutionary inventions and was named Inventor of the Year in 1987 by the Intellectual Property Owners Association. His many patents spanned the fields of acoustics, electronics, nonlinear systems and communication theory.

Bose’s legacy of innovation continues to inspire future creators and entrepreneurs. As he once told his students at MIT, “The future isn’t in solving the problems to which we already know the answers. It’s in learning how to work through the problems you’ll experience in life, in any subject.”