Manfred R. Schroeder as an academic teacher: Minutes from an infinite paradise in acoustics, number theory, and “swinging physics.”

Being the academic supervisor of more than 40 Ph.D. students (that later became university professors or chief scientists in companies themselves) constitute only a small part of the many activities and scientific fields Manfred R. Schroeder mastered in his academic life. After finishing his Ph.D. with Erwin Meyer in Gottingen (1954) Schroeder joined Bell Labs where he finally became director of acoustics and mechanics research. In 1969 he was also appointed Professor of physics and director of the Drittes Physikalisches Institut in Gottingen. The denomination of the institute “Schwingungsphysik” (i.e., physics connected to oscillations) was deliberately mistranslated by him into “swinging physics”—a term that characterizes well the light mood and creative atmosphere among the students that was inspired by Schroeder’s supportive character in the 70’s–90’s. His inventions and impressive lectures about acoustics, number theory, speech, and nonlinear dynamics formed the basis of his very popular books. The “Schroeder diffusors,” for example, are reflection gratings based on his number theoretic considerations that suppress the specular reflections while distributing scattered sound into all different directions. The talk will give an overview of Manfred Schroeder’s life in academia—from the viewpoint of one of his former students.