DAVID FELDMAN
Bell Labs informed the public that David Feldman, long retired after 31 years of service to the Labs, died on March 21, 1998. He is survived by his wife, Claire, a daughter, and two sons. Because of his direct impact on the existence of the CPMT society and much of our technology, we asked two colleagues to write a few memories.
George G. Harman, NIST Fellow:
I have known and worked with Dave Feldman for many years and I regret his loss a great deal. His contributions to our Society were greater and continued much longer than most members are aware !
Let me describe what history I can remember about Dave, and perhaps others can fill in more. He served often for the ECC (now called ECTC): 1968 Session Chair for Resistive Elements, 1969, Session Chair for Filters and Networks, 1970 Tech Program Chair, 1971 Vice General Chair, 1972 General Chairman. He served as President of the IEEE PHP Group in 1974, and then three years as Jr. Past President (his successor, Ralph Armington was president for 3 years -- 1975-77). Dave was responsible for the negotiations that led to forming the IEEE CHMT Society (as we know it today, CPMT) in 1978. He received the "PHP Contributions Award" in 1977. It is fitting that your Board of Governors has chosen to name this award after Dave. At the time this was the only award for our Society.
He was then elected back onto the AdCom (BOG to you new comers) along with myself in 1981. He ran the Constitution and Bylaws, and several other Committees for awhile. Sometime in 1981 (midterm I think) he also took over the Chair of the Fellows and Awards Committee. Around that time (perhaps in early 1982, as I recall), he suffered a major heart attack and was absent for several months. He returned and continued his CHMT work. He served as the Fellows and Awards Committee Chair until his retirement from Bell Labs in 1987. I had worked with him on his F & A Committee since 1982, and when he retired he recommended that the combined Chair be given to myself.
He continued to serve as a member of the Fellows Committee helping to rate fellow nominations until last year. I appointed him to the main IEEE Fellow Committee where he served a one or two year term, 1990-91. After that I would call him each year before sending him the new Fellow nominations, and we had long conversations. He was always interested in the progress of PHP-CHMT-CPMT. However, last year he indicated that he felt too far away from the issues to rate the nominees anymore, and so he resigned from the Committee.
One of our Society legacies from him are two boxes of old letters and other papers that he sent to me when he gave up the Fellow Committee Chair. They had apparently been passed to him when he was president, but included some of his own information as well. I used that information to write a history of our Society awards from the beginning - (published in our Sept 1992 Newsletter, pp3-4). These boxes are still stored on the top of a high bookcase and are available through me (until a better home is found).
Dave, we will miss you !

Frank L. Howland, packaging consultant, former Bell Labs
Dave and I worked together over many years. During these years Dave directed the technical evolution and application of thin film hybrid technology for applications throughout the telecommunication business of AT&T. In order to expedite specific design, development and production, he established branch organizations at the system product development sites of Indianapolis, Indian Hill and Merrimac Valley.
The technology was based on tantalum nitride resistors and tantalum thin film capacitors. This combination permitted the design and fabrication of temperature compensated precision passive and active circuits for a variety of precision applications. A landmark application of this thin film technology was the active thin film RC circuit for touch tone dialing in the telephone handset. For the high speed ESS 3 switching system, a dense interconnect field with multiple beam-lead integrated circuits was used which, at that time, were at the leading edge of device and interconnect technology. The demands of high speed switching led to the evolution of low resistivity thin film while maintaining the compatibility with thin film resistors and capacitors.
Dave was, throughout his career, active in planning and fostering continued education within the Bell Laboratories. He was instrumental in developing and teaching courses for new managers.
Dave was dedicated to and active in the IEEE with a strong emphasis on the "Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Society" and its predecessors. He worked diligently to encourage membership and personal and technical contribution. He continued to be active after his retirement.

Editors note:
Appropriate to a man that had done so much for telecommunications and for IEEE, there was an avalanche of email after the Bell Labs announcement. I have been the keeper of the CPMT constitution since David Feldman handed his files over to me in early 1980s. His 3 inch thick binder with all the correspondence and inputs to the original constitution are the only organized section of my "constitution box." I have mused many times "If he was this organized and thorough in a minor volunteer activity, what power he must have brought to bare on substantial technical issues."