Homer Sarasohn, an

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

Life Member (24 April 1916 – September 28, 2001), was an American engineer. When

General Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

recruited him to re-establish the Japanese electronics industry, Mr. Sarasohn initiated the quality control standards for which Japan's electronic industry became known. He also wrote books on quality control, one of the earliest being Fundamentals of Industrial Management, which is still in print in Japan. Homer Sarasohn originally focused on the radio industry, since MacArthur saw that as a method to use as a tool of occupation for direct communication with the Japanese people. He worked with Charles Protzman, who had been charged with running Japan's telephone system. When they returned to the United States, Sarasohn recommended

W. Edwards Deming William Edwards Deming (October 14, 1900 – December 20, 1993) was an American engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer, and management consultant. Educated initially as an electrical engineer and later specializing in mathematical ...

to continue the campaign of quality that he and Protzman had begun. He fought with the 161st Airborne Engineers in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, until receiving a medical discharge at the end of 1943. He then worked on Project Cadillac (military radar systems) at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT). Mr. Sarasohn's wife of 62 years, Shirley Sarasohn, died in November 2001. He is survived by their daughters Linda Kingdon and Lisa Sarasohn and by their grandchildren Sara and David Kingdon.

Life and career

Mr. Sarasohn worked at

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...

Manufacturing Company in Waltham, MA, where he designed, built, and installed an experimental microwave radio transmission system for wideband general communication use. During World War II he worked at the

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

Radiation Lab and supervised the production of innovative radar systems for critical military applications. Mr. Sarasohn was 29 when

summoned him to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

to restore Japan's communications industry following its destruction during World War II. From 1946 through 1950, as chief of the Industry Branch of the occupation army's Civil Communications Section (CCS), Mr. Sarasohn took the lead in helping Japan rebuild its capacity to manufacture radio, telephone, and telegraph equipment—and to assure the reliable quality of its industrial production. Upon his return from Japan, Mr. Sarasohn worked as a management consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton in New York and later at IBM in several positions including Director of Engineering Communications. During his tenure at IBM he made significant contributions to the integration of computerized data processing and telecommunications. Before and after his retirement in 1977, Mr. Sarasohn served as a consultant and technical advisor on the exchange and dissemination of engineering information both nationally and worldwide. He was, for example, Technical Advisor to the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology and a member of the U.S. delegations to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Mr. Sarasohn served as an

divisional director, president of the Engineering Management Society, and

representative to the Russian Popov Society. He also organized and served as general chairman for the 14th Annual Joint Engineering Management Conference.
Homer Sarasohn, pioneer in quality management. Accessed: 12 Aug 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarasohn, Homer 1916 births 2001 deaths