Peter Fellgett

British physicist and inventor (11 April 1922, Ipswich — 15 November 2008, Cornwall). Peter Fellgett, also known as PBF or πϕ, as he signed personal letters, is renowned as the first Professor of Cybernetics in the UK, a Fellow of the Royal Society (1986) who made numerous contributions to various scientific fields, from audio recording to astronomy. He created Fellgett's advantage, a technique that dramatically improves the signal-to-noise ratio in infrared spectroscopy, and was one of the co-inventors of an "Ambisonic" surround sound technology with Michael Gerzon, Geoffrey Barton and several other scientists. Fellgett attended the University of Cambridge, earning his Ph.D. degree in 1949 with a thesis "Theory of Infra-Red Sensitivities and Its Application to Investigations of Stellar Radiation in the Near Infra-Red." This work laid the foundation for "Fellgett's advantage," his best-known invention. Peter spent a year abroad in 1951–52 at Lick Observatory in San Jose, California, but generally remained at Cambridge until 1959, engaged in various research projects. Peter's next stint was at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, where he dedicated five years to "instrument science." In 1964, Peter Fellgett joined the University of Reading as a professor at the Department of Applied Physical Sciences. During his tenure, the faculty was renamed to Department of Cybernetics and Engineering, with Fellgett accepting the first Professor's position for a cutting-edge discipline. Fellgett supervised a workgroup that developed an optical force-feedback microphone. This project sparked his interest in sound spatialization, leading to a subsequent collaboration with Gerzon's team on "Ambisonics." PBF retired from Reading University as Professor Emeritus of Cybernetics in 1987, actively working and publishing until the very end of his life; he passed away at 86.