Born in 1954 in Davenport Iowa of German immigrants, grew up mostly in Pittsburgh, then Michigan Tech (Houghton) BSEE 1975. My first job was working for the government – NBS Gaithersburg. It was interesting for a while. Then came Tektronix as a design engineer (OF150, and 2 patents), then a period of boom and bust consulting in the Pacific Northwest. More patents – Optical Bridge Sensor, 1987, followed by a slew of patents first in optoelectronics and then capacitive sensing. Took a risk on an opportunity in England, and instead founded a company in Hamble called Quantum Research Group Ltd that specialized in touch controls. Licensed Apple in 2000, got ripped off by Apple in 2004 (iPod scroll wheel, Macbook trackpad, ‘Mighty Mouse’ etc, and later, the iPhone), sold tons of sensor chips and technology licenses anyway. Sued, and the case was settled in cash. Two Queen’s Awards in 2007. Sold the company in 2008 to Atmel. Retired to Switzerland in 2010. Your phone or tablet touchscreen is based on my patents, or work-arounds and outright copies.
Now I take lots of photographs with my antique film cameras, and research biology and health science related issues of the day.
Background Photo:
A Passage at Sveti Stefan Montenegro, 2019
Camera: Vermeer 617 curved-plane pinhole
Film: Washi V, 30 minute exposure
All photos and articles © Copyright Harald Philipp, All Rights Reserved. Use without permission strictly prohibited.