Erwin Hochmair

Hochmair was born in Vienna in 1940. He received his Dipl.-Ing. and D.Tech. degrees in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Vienna in 1964 and 1967, respectively. He joined the Institute for Physical Electronics of the Technical University of Vienna in 1965, where he taught courses on linear integrated circuits and circuit design. He worked as a research associate at Marshall Space Flight Center, in the U.S. from 1970 to 1972 where he designed analog integrated circuits in CMOS technology.{{cite web |last=Chaikof |first=Rachel |author-link= |date=December 19, 2012 |title=Journey to Developing MED-EL's Cochlear Implant: Interview with Dr. Ingeborg and Professor Erwin Hochmair, Founders of MED-EL |url=http://cochlearimplantonline.com/site/journey-to-developing-med-els-cochlear-implant-interview-with-dr-ingeborg-and-professor-erwin-hochmair-founders-of-med-el/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223143257/http://cochlearimplantonline.com/site/journey-to-developing-med-els-cochlear-implant-interview-with-dr-ingeborg-and-professor-erwin-hochmair-founders-of-med-el/ |archive-date=23 February 2021 |publisher=cochlearimplantonline.com}} He was a visiting associate professor at Stanford University in 1979.

In 1975, the Austrian Research Council supported Hochmair's cochlear implant project by a grant of 110,000 ATS, roughly equivalent to $11,000 USD. Together with his wife Ingeborg Hochmair, who holds several degrees in electrical engineering, he designed a device that was able to stimulate the fibers of the auditory nerve at several locations within the cochlea. A previous implant design by William F. House could only stimulate cochlea at one site.

They built a multichannel intra-cochlear electrode, and developed all the implantable and the external electronics for the transcutaneous transmission, the coding and decoding of circuits and the electrode driving circuitry while trying to minimize the power consumption. On December 16, 1977 he was part of the team responsible for implanting the first single-channel cochlear implant.{{cite news| last =Henkel |first =Gretchen |title =History of the Cochlear Implant | work =ENT Today | publisher =The Triological Society | date =1 April 2013 | url =http://www.enttoday.org/article/history-of-the-cochlear-implant/ | accessdate =19 July 2016 }} They established MED-EL in 1989, a cochlear implant manufacture company.{{cite web|title=The Hearing Implant Company|url=http://www.medel.com/about-med-el/|publisher=medel.com}} In 2013, Ingeborg Hochmair won the coveted Lasker Award, often considered the "American Nobel Prize," for this development.{{cite news|last=Altman|first=Lawrence K|title=Lasker Awards Go to Five Scientists and Gateses|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/health/lasker-awards-winners-2013.html|accessdate=8 October 2013|date=9 September 2013|work=The New York Times}}

1977: Best Paper Award, International Solid-State Circuits Conference

2003: Erwin Schrödinger Prize, Austrian Academy of Sciences{{Cite web|date=2017-07-02|title=Preisträger und Preisträgerinnen des Erwin Schrödinger-Preises {{!}} stipendien.at|url=http://stipendien.oeaw.ac.at/de/preistr%C3%A4ger-und-preistr%C3%A4gerinnen-des-erwin-schr%C3%B6dinger-preises|access-date=2021-10-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702024726/http://stipendien.oeaw.ac.at/de/preistr%C3%A4ger-und-preistr%C3%A4gerinnen-des-erwin-schr%C3%B6dinger-preises|archive-date=2017-07-02}}

2004: Honorary Doctorate of Medicine, Technical University of Munich{{Cite web|title=Erwin Hochmair Biography {{!}} Ohio University|url=https://www.ohio.edu/engineering/about/russ-prize/recipients/erwin-hochmair-biography|access-date=2021-10-27|website=www.ohio.edu}}

2004: Holzer Prize, Technical University of Vienna{{Cite web|title=Hohe TU-Auszeichnung für das Forschungsehepaar Hochmair|url=https://www.tuwien.at/tu-wien/aktuelles/news/news/hohe-tu-auszeichnung-fuer-das-forschungsehepaar-hochmair|access-date=2021-10-27|website=www.tuwien.at|language=de}}

2014: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class{{Cite web|title=ÖAW Mitglieder Detail|url=https://www.oeaw.ac.at/m/hochmair-erwin|access-date=2021-10-27|website=www.oeaw.ac.at}}

2014: Russ Prize, National Academy of Engineering

2014: Finalist for the European Inventor Award{{Cite web|last=Office|first=European Patent|title=Ingeborg Hochmair, Erwin Hochmair (Austria)|url=https://www.epo.org/news-events/events/european-inventor/finalists/2014/hochmair.html|access-date=2021-10-27|website=www.epo.org|language=en}}

2015: Johann Joseph Ritter von Prechtl Medal, Technical University of Vienna

2016: Eduard Rhein Prize, Eduard Rhein Foundation

Hochmair is the author or co-author on more than 50 publications in the field of electrical engineering and cochlear implant technology.{{Cite web|title=Google Scholar|url=https://scholar.google.at/scholar?q=author:%22ES+hochmair%22&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&as_vis=1|access-date=2021-10-27|website=scholar.google.at}}

Some of his most prominent papers include:

Teissl, Ch.; Kremser, Ch.; Hochmair, E. S.; Hochmair-Desoyer, I. J. (1999) Magnetic resonance imaging and cochlear implants: Compatibility and safety aspects. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Bd. 9, S. 26-38.{{Cite journal|last1=Teissl|first1=C.|last2=Kremser|first2=C.|last3=Hochmair|first3=E. S.|last4=Hochmair-Desoyer|first4=I. J.|date=January 1999|title=Magnetic resonance imaging and cochlear implants: compatibility and safety aspects|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10030647/|journal=Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging |volume=9|issue=1|pages=26–38|doi=10.1002/(sici)1522-2586(199901)9:1<26::aid-jmri4>3.0.co;2-h|issn=1053-1807|pmid=10030647|doi-access=free}}

Zierhofer, C.; Hochmair, E. (1996) Geometric approach for coupling enhancement of magnetically coupled coils. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Bd. 43 (7), S. 708-714.{{Cite journal|last1=Zierhofer|first1=C. M.|last2=Hochmair|first2=E. S.|date=July 1996|title=Geometric approach for coupling enhancement of magnetically coupled coils|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9216142/|journal=IEEE Transactions on Bio-Medical Engineering|volume=43|issue=7|pages=708–714|doi=10.1109/10.503178|issn=0018-9294|pmid=9216142|s2cid=2963134}}

Zierhofer, C.; Hochmair, I.; Hochmair, E. (1995) Electronic design of a cochlear implant for multichannel high-rate pulsatile stimulation strategies. IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering, Bd. 3 (1), S. 112-116.{{Cite journal|last1=Zierhofer|first1=C.|last2=Hochmair-Desoyer|first2=I.|last3=Hochmair|first3=E.|date=1995|title=Electronic design of a cochlear implant for multichannel high-rate pulsatile stimulation strategies|journal=IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering|volume=3|pages=112–116|doi=10.1109/86.372900|s2cid=110583144}}

Hochmair, E. S. (1984) System optimization for improved accuracy in transcutaneous signal and power transmission. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Bd. BME-31, S. 177-186.{{Cite journal|last=Hochmair|first=E. S.|date=February 1984|title=System optimization for improved accuracy in transcutaneous signal and power transmission|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6546736/|journal=IEEE Transactions on Bio-Medical Engineering|volume=31|issue=2|pages=177–186|doi=10.1109/TBME.1984.325404|issn=0018-9294|pmid=6546736|s2cid=27027906}}

Hochmair, E. S.; Hochmair-Desoyer, I. J. (1981) An implanted auditory eight-channel stimulator for the deaf. Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, Bd. 19, S. 141-148.{{Cite journal|last1=Hochmair|first1=E. S.|last2=Hochmair-Desoyer|first2=I. J.|date=March 1981|title=An implanted auditory eight channel stimulator for the deaf|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6894955/|journal=Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing|volume=19|issue=2|pages=141–148|doi=10.1007/BF02442707|issn=0140-0118|pmid=6894955|s2cid=42024762}}

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Category:1940 births

Category:Living people

Category:Engineers from Vienna

Category:Austrian expatriates in the United States

Category:TU Wien alumni