Page 64 - Spring 2015

Leif Bjørnø
Postal:
Stendiget 19, DK-2630 Taastrup, Denmark
Email:
prof.lb@mail.dk
Running a business is about having fun. Having fun is the best way to use your skills.
Figure 1. Dr. Brüel at 100.
Dr. Per Brüel (Figure 1) celebrat- ed his 100th birthday on March 6, 2015.1 For more than 75 years, Dr. Brüel was in the forefront of acoustic measurement techniques and analysis. During this time, he played a substantial role in acoustics as an engineer, a vision- ary inventor, a founder of a major global corporation, an enthusias- tic pilot, and an explorer who per- sonally pioneered new markets. And, as a scientist, he had a major influence on research and devel- opment in acoustics at university laboratories and at companies all over the world. Through develop-
Dr. Per V. brüel -100 Years
ment and production of high-quality instruments for nearly all kinds of acoustic measurements, Dr. Brüel had a decisive influence on the high standard of acoustic measurements of today and on our present knowledge of acoustical phenomena.
All acousticians have been influenced by Brüel’s work because it gave them the ad- vanced tools for their own research and development. Sound and vibration mea- surements today depend on the technology and advanced instruments developed by Brüel & Kjær, the company that Brüel founded in 1942 along with his partner, Viggo Kjær (1914–2013). This technology has an impact on communication; on air, ground, and sea transport; on environmental protection; on entertainment; on a broad variety of industrial processes; on human health protection; on energy production; and on noise abatement in residential properties and areas.
Per V. Brüel was born in 1915 in Copenhagen, the eldest son of Gustaf and Else Brüel. His father was a forester, and it was the family tradition that the eldest son should also be a forester. Per did not like the idea of becoming a forester, creating a big family scandal. Therefore, when he grew older, he was sent away to become a blacksmith. Fortunately, the manager of the power station where Per would be educated felt that a blacksmith was not the right education for Per and that he should go to the university. He received his high-school certificate in 1933, which gave him access to the Technical University of Denmark (TUD). Per’s particular interests during his studies at the TUD (1933–1939) were electronics, aerodynam- ics, and acoustics. Per received his MSc degree from the TUD in 1939. Because his professor, P. O. Pedersen, who was also president of TUD, particularly looked
1 We are saddened that Dr. Per Brüel passed away on April 2, 2015.
62 | Acoustics Today | Spring 2015 , volume 11, issue 2 ©2015 Acoustical Society of America. All rights reserved.