The Joseph Tykociner Commemorative Website
based on the forthcoming book
Out of Sync:
The Life of Joseph Tykociner
"Father of The Talkies"
by Paul Doering
Opinions expressed here are the author's and don't necessarily represent those of any other referenced party.
Tragic News
On July 9, 2002, the life of George Glan, Joseph Tykociner's beloved nephew, was cut short by an automobile accident. George was an intelligent and gentle person who dedicated himself to improving that part of the world he could affect. In that respect he was a lot like Joseph.
George, on the right in this photo taken at the start of our collaboration, was born in Poland in 1911. He earned his engineering degrees in Europe and at the University of Illinois. He came to the U.S. in 1938 and served in World War II and the Korean conflict, retiring from the military as a Colonel. He continued his civilian career as an engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, Ohio.
George was active in many humanitarian and ecological organizations.
My wife and I have lost a friend, and humankind has lost an exemplar of virtue. |
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It's been thirty years since Joseph Tykocinski-Tykociner died. I miss him. He was my teacher, counselor and role-model. He was a proper genius, an intellectual tornado in a three-piece suit and pince-nez spectacles. From his boyhood in Poland to his half-century at the University of Illinois, he never stopped challenging the universe. His agile mind had an astonishing ability to see the connections among seemingly isolated concepts. Offering him an idea was like taking a full swing at a golf ball in a tile bathroom: launch it and duck!
Our movies, our radio and television, our microwave ovens, our radar, even the nature of research itself -- these and more depend on aspects of Joseph's work. So why is there no famous author to tell his story? Why must his tribute be left to one of his students? I don't know. Maybe we've lost our appreciation for our quiet benefactors. I hope not. Something in me needs to believe that excellence and integrity still matter, that a reader can still draw inspiration from a true story of triumphing against scary odds.
I do know this: the world does not have so many good people that we can afford to let one to pass unmourned.
Excellence attracts excellence, and never was this truer than in Joseph's marriage. Helena, the sole romance of his life, was not only his wife but his sister-in-law, for they met at the wedding of his sister and her brother. She was the focal point of his personal life. When the Nazification of Europe put their Jewish relatives in mortal jeopardy, she drove herself in a crusade for their rescue and relocation. The unrelenting pressure wore her down mercilessly, and at her death in 1953 she might well have been characterized as Hitler's last victim. The book devotes a chapter to this remarkable woman. She deserves a whole book of her own. If you want to take on that assignment, please contact me at JTT@doer.com. I can point you toward a lot of material, but be forewarned: it will break your heart.
When I retired from my own research career, I decided it was time to stop waiting for somebody else and to start writing. In this effort I've been aided by other Tykociner fans. Foremost were his late nephew George Glan and George's late wife Lois. They were the curators of his intellectual legacy during the first 33 years after his death. It would have been hard to find two smarter, gentler, warmer people. To their memory I dedicate this book.
I owe thanks too to the professionals at the University of Illinois and to many of Joseph's surviving friends and relatives. The list is gratifyingly long, and they'll find their deserved recognition in the book. I particularly want to cite Professors Timothy Trick and Steve Kang, successive heads of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. They've been instrumental in perpetuating the Tykociner Memorial Lecture series, an approximately biennial event. It was at the 1992 lecture that my wife and I met the Glans and began collaborating on the biography. In addition, my research has been accelerated by the courtesy and competence of the professionals at the University Archives.
Joseph willed his personal and professional papers to the university's archives. Before daring to write the first word, I spent months studying and cataloguing the 70,000 documents and mementos. As I reviewed the material, I realized it was more appropriate for a novel than a biography. Here was a man who
as a child survived Russia's culture-crushing occupation of Poland;
in his teens knew Nikola Tesla in New York City;
earned one of the first electrical engineering degrees from a prestigious German college;
was with Marconi in London at the time of the first transatlantic radio message;
founded the Siemens technical lab in St Petersburg;
received a jeweled gold watch from Czar Nicholas II for equipping the entire Russian navy with radio;
was present in St Petersburg's Helsinki Station at Lenin's return from exile;
fled Russia with only what he and Helena could carry;
collaborated in establishing the Polish national radio network;
gave movies their voice by being the first to demonstrate a practical sound-on-film system;
revolutionized the design procedures for radio antennas;
pioneered the use of microwave radiation; and
conceived and formalized the new science of zetetics.
And yet we can honestly regard him as The Man History Forgot.
As you can guess, part of the challenge -- especially for a first-time biographer -- lay in bringing Joseph alive in print without turning him into an earlier era's Indiana Jones. His papers tended to be formal: representing the scientist, masking the person. But Joseph wasn't dry. He was witty, even impish at times.
Let me tell you what you'll find on your screen as this Joseph Tykociner commemorative website takes shape. If you don't find what you want today, come back occasionally to see what's new.
Here's what to expect.
A brief introduction to zetetics, Joseph's name for the science of research. Zetetics is a framework for identifying and exploiting the conceptual relationships between the sciences and arts. It seeks to discover overlapping fields of study -- such as bioelectronics or astrobiology -- where the present lack of knowledge suggests great opportunities for fundamental research and thus a high return on investment. The formulation of zetetics occupied the latter half of Joseph's life. He regarded it as his most significant achievement.
A history of Joseph's quest for recording sound photographically. He labored for a quarter of a century before he could bring the necessary technologies together, but on June 9, 1922 he was the first person to publicly demonstrate the sound-on-film system on which today's movies depend. Joseph did not gain recognition for his invention. The reason behind history's oversight is a narrative stranger than fiction. The page will include stereo images of his sound-on-film apparatus.
A glimpse into Joseph's early life. Based on my research into his first post-degree job, I've written a short story true to Joseph's personality and to the interplay between the man and his time. It's available now as Joseph and the London Letters. Please note that this short story is not an excerpt from the book-length biography, nor does it represent the book's style or form.
A survey of the Tykociner Memorial Lecture series held in Joseph's honor every couple of years on the Champaign-Urbana campus of the University of Illinois. In recent years the lectures have been held with declining regularity. I hope that the biography will generate public enthusiasm for Joseph and his work, prompting a return to a dependable biennial schedule. They really are quite worthwhile.
A complete bibiography of Joesph's books, patents and technical papers. Although such a list might seem to be of limited interest, you could be surprised at the breadth of his intellect.
A catalogue of my own library of books and other resources concerned with the world Joseph knew. Mind you, this was a man comfortable with five languages and who lived in Poland, Russia, Germany, England and the United States during historically important times for each of those countries. Winston Churchill commented that there is no such thing as history; there is only biography. Joseph and world changed each other, and no biography can ignore either.
Such ideas as you propose and I can implement based on the material available to me. And of course I'll welcome your directing me toward additional resources concerning Joseph and the world around him.
Thank you for your interest in Joseph and his work. When the book is published, I'll announce the event here.
Except for material used with permission,
this entire website is copyright 1998 - 2003 Paul F. Doering.
All rights reserved.
Latest revision: October 15, 2003.
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"Everything which helps to complement my awareness of the whole
makes me feel exhilarated, inspired, and happy."
-- Joseph Tykociner, February 1960
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