October 21, 2003
Press Release

Dr. Pompei, former MIT researcher and founder of Holosonics, of Watertown, Mass., was named as one of the "World's Top Young Innovators" by Technology Review for his invention of the Audio SpotlightŪ directional sound technology. Nominated by Dr. Gordon Bell, an award-winning senior researcher at Microsoft Corporation, the award recognizes those researchers under the age of 35 whose innovative work in technology has a profound impact on today's world.

The Audio Spotlight system uses nonlinearly propagating ultrasound to create highly directional beams of sound in mid-air, which can be "shone" and "directed" much like light. Dr. Pompei was the first in the world to develop the mathematics and advanced engineering that allowed sound to be created literally from thin air with sound quality and reliability rivaling traditional loudspeakers. He presented his first paper and demonstration in 1998 to the Audio Engineering Society, and was met with a standing ovation from the world's top audio professionals. Once the audio industry was shown that such a system could actually work - and once Pompei published a paper showing exactly how, several other groups have done their best to copy the device, but none have succeeded. "I'm happy that Technology Review correctly recognized me as the true inventor of the technology," says Pompei.

The Audio Spotlight sound system, developed and manufactured by Holosonics, is currently used around the world for museums, tradeshows, retail displays, exhibitions, and special effects, and will soon be available for consumer applications. Companies such as Motorola, Time-Warner, DaimlerChrysler, Kraft Foods, Sega, and American Greetings have chosen the Audio Spotlight, and Audio Spotlight systems have been installed in venues such as Boston's Museum of Science, the Matisse Museum, Sega's Joypolis, Bibliotheque National de France, Boston Center for the Arts, the European PGA tour, and the Chicago Cultural Center.

Dr. Pompei was honored at a ceremony in September which included speakers Michael Dell, Founder and CEO of Dell Computer Corporation; Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman of the Board and CEO of General Electric; Bob Metcalfe, Founder of 3Com Corporation and General Partner at Polaris Venture Partners; and Nathan Myhrvold, Ph.D., Managing Director of Intellectual Ventures and former CTO of Microsoft Corporation.

About Dr. F. Joseph Pompei

Beginning his career in acoustics at 16 as the youngest engineer at Bose Corporation, Joseph Pompei continued at Bose while earning a degree in Electrical Engineering with an Electronic Arts minor from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Recognizing the importance and underutilisation of spatialised sound, he decided to pursue research in psychoacoustics at Northwestern University, earning a Master's degree. Acutely aware of the limitations of traditional loudspeakers, he had the idea of using ultrasound as an acoustic projector, and has now developed such a device, called the "Audio Spotlight" at the MIT Media Lab, continuing his education to earn a Ph. D. Holosonics was founded in 1999 to commercialize the technology, and remains the world leader in directed audio solutions.

About Technology Review Inc.

Technology Review Inc., an MIT Enterprise, delivers essential information about emerging technologies on the verge of commercialization. Since 1998, paid circulation for the company's magazine, Technology Review, has more than tripled, climbing from 92,000 to 315,000. Combined with its signature events, newsletters, and online businesses, Technology Review reaches over a million senior technology thinkers and influencers - including venture capitalists, chief scientists, MIT alumni and students, researchers, senior corporate executives, investors, and innovators - throughout the world each month.

Contact information:

Dr. F. Joseph Pompei
press@holosonics.com
phone: 617-924-1576 x3

Audio SpotlightŪ is a registered trademark of Holosonic Research Labs, Inc.