Amar G. Bose, Acoustics Pioneer, Dies at 83

Amar G. Bose, the acoustics pioneer behind the industry-standard Bose Corporation, has died at his Wayland home.

He was 83.

His death was announced by the Bose Corporation on Friday, according to his obituary, and the website now features a memorial page bearing his image and the words: "Founder, Technical Director, Chairman, Teacher."

"It is impossible to put into words what Dr. Bose meant to each of us and to Bose," reads a statement from Bose President Bob Maresca. "He was more than our chairman. He was our teacher – always encouraged us, always believing that we could do great things, and that anything was possible."

Bose founded the Bose Corporation in 1964 at the urging of his mentor Dr. Y. W. Lee, who was Bose's adviser while he was an engineering student at MIT, according to a New York Times piece. 

His Forbes profile notes that Bose was a violin player in his youth and a lover of classical music. 

That love of classical music drove him to pursue the creation of a speaker design capable of bringing concert hall-quality sound to homes. His first design fell short, according to the New York Times piece, but his decision to keep his company private allowed him to pursue perfection without the pressure of shareholders.

In 1968, Bose introduced the Bose 901 Direct/Reflecting speaker system, the NYT piece reads. It used a combination of direct and reflected sound to mimic the experience of listeners in large concert halls.

While his work brought concert hall sound into homes, Bose later became a sought after engineer to design the acoustics in some of the world's most famous public spaces, including the Sistine Chapel, the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the Masjid al-Haram (the grand mosque in Mecca), according to the NYT.

His speakers also found their way into some of the world's high-end automobiles, including Porsche and Mercedes, and his noise-canceling headphones are used by military and commercial pilots, not to mention business travelers around the world, the NYT piece reports.

For more on Bose's devotion to teaching, see the New York Times obituary.

Bose is survived by his wife, Ursula, and to two children from his first wife, Prema.