Dr. Felix Zandman, Ph.D. (May 7, 1927 – June 4, 2011) was the founder and chief technology officer of Vishay Intertechnology – one of the world's largest providers of electronic components. From 1946 to 1949 he studied in France at the University of Nancy physics and engineering. In parallel, he was enrolled in a Grande École of engineering E.N.S.E.M (Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Electricité et de Mécanique). He received a Ph.D. at the Sorbonne as a physicist on a subject of photoelasticity. He was awarded the Edward Longstreth Medal from the Franklin Institute in 1962.[1]
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Felix Zandman was born in Grodno, Belarus, then in eastern Poland.[2] In October 1941, at the age of 14 he arrived at the Grodno Ghetto (liquidated at the end of 1942) with parents, sisters, grandparents and many other relatives. He survived the Holocaust thanks to a family of Polish Righteous Jan and Anna Puchalski who hid him and his uncle for 17 months. Their main hiding place was a dugout 170 cm long, 150 cm wide and, only 120 cm tall.
Felix Zandman shared this hideaway with three other Jewish refugees. One of them, his uncle Sender Freydowicz, taught him trigonometry, and advanced mathematics in the long hours of darkness.[3] The advanced Soviet Army liberated them in July 1944. With other survivors, he remained for a short time in Poland. In the summer of 1946, Zandman was able to emigrate legally to France.
Zandman worked initially for two years as a lecturer at the Ecole de l'Air, the French Academy of Aeronautics.[4] He then worked as an engineer in his specialty field of voltage measurement for a publicly owned company, which manufactured aircraft engines.
In 1956, Zandman presented his methods and self-developed instruments for the first time in the U.S.. He was able to establish important contacts with leading professors and well-known users of its specific field. He was eventually employed by the company Tatnall Measuring Systems in Philadelphia as director of basic research. Initially, he concentrated on measuring the development of his case, voltages of optical coatings. Then he developed a temperature-resistant electrical resistance. His employer, however, had no interest in the marketing of this invention.
Felix Zandman put the potential of his invention to work. To this end he founded, in 1962, the company Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. His relative, Alfred P. Slaner, provided financial support for the initial funding. The company has developed into a Fortune 1000 company with many subsidiaries and over 22,000 employees worldwide. Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE: VSH[5]) is a publicly traded company with a market capitalization of over a billion dollars.[2]