Otto Herbert Schmitt (April 6, 1913 – January 6, 1998) was an American inventor, engineer, and biophysicist known for his scientific contributions to

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

and for establishing the field of

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

. Schmitt also coined the term biomimetics and invented or co-invented the

Schmitt trigger In electronics, a Schmitt trigger is a comparator circuit with hysteresis implemented by applying positive feedback to the noninverting input of a comparator or differential amplifier. It is an active circuit which converts an analog input si ...

, the

differential amplifier A differential amplifier is a type of electronic amplifier that amplifies the difference between two input voltages but suppresses any voltage common to the two inputs. It is an analog circuit with two inputs V_\text^- and V_\text^+ and one outpu ...

, and the chopper-stabilized amplifier. He was elected in 1953 a Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

. (search on year=1953 and institution=University of Minnesota) He was awarded the

John Price Wetherill Medal The John Price Wetherill Medal was an award of the Franklin Institute. It was established with a bequest given by the family of John Price Wetherill (1844–1906) on April 3, 1917. On June 10, 1925, the Board of Managers voted to create a silver ...

in 1972.

References

*“Biomimetic.” Merriam-Webster.com. 2013. Web. April 15, 2013. *Geddes, Leslie A. "Personal Recollections Of Otto Schmitt. Otto Knew How To Get People's Attention." IEEE Engineering In Medicine And Biology Magazine: The Quarterly Magazine Of The Engineering In Medicine & Biology Society 23.6 (2004): 60-61. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. *Harkness, Jon M. "In Appreciation A Lifetime Of Connections: Otto Herbert Schmitt, 1913-1998." Physics In Perspective 4.4 (2002): 456. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. *Patterson, Robert. "The Contributions Of Otto H. Schmitt. More Than The Schmitt Trigger." IEEE Engineering In Medicine And Biology Magazine: The Quarterly Magazine Of The Engineering In Medicine & Biology Society 23.6 (2004): 19. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. *Schmitt, Francis O. The Never-Ceasing Search. Vol. 188. Philadelphia: American Philosophilcal Society, 1990. Print. Memoirs. *Valentinuzzi, Max E. "Otto Herbert Arnold Schmitt (1913-1998), A Pioneer. Overview Of His Scientific Production." IEEE Engineering In Medicine And Biology Magazine: The Quarterly Magazine Of The Engineering In Medicine & Biology Society 23.6 (2004): 42-46. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.

External links

Biomimetic Charitable Foundation

A Lifetime of Connections: Otto Herbert Schmitt, 1913-1998
Otto H. Schmitt Online Interpretive Center
maintained by the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitt, Otto 1913 births 1998 deaths American people of German descent American biophysicists Washington University physicists 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American inventors Fellows of the American Physical Society