Franz Max Osswald

Franz Max Osswald, born in Winterthur, graduated as a mechanical engineer in 1905 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (E.T.H.). In 1924, he installed a laboratory for applied acoustics at E.T.H. After completing his habilitation in 1928, he served as the first acoustician at a polytechnic, teaching as a "Privatdozent." Osswald described his discipline as an indispensable complement to architecture, technology, and hygiene. His development of a technique for sound photography for the purposes of room acoustics is considered one of his greatest achievements, alongside other measurement instruments such as the "Poch-Variator" (1935), an instrument producing strokes that can be assessed by ear.

Picture: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Meiner, Johannes / Portr_13145-PL / Public Domain