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Born in Austria in 1924, H. Joseph Gerber showed an early fascination with technology. By the age of eight, he was building radios and circuit breakers. Seven years later, along with many others affected by the Nazi occupation, he was imprisoned in a labor camp, and in 1940, he and his mother fled war-torn Austria, immigrating to the United States. After completing high school in just two years, he entered Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1946.
In his junior year at RPI, Gerber's life would change forever with the invention of the Gerber Variable Scale®, a new method of scaling distances between points. With the Variable Scale as his first manufactured product and a $3,000 investment, The Gerber Scientific Instrument Company was born.
In the early days of the company, Gerber invented a variety of manual graphical numerical data reduction systems as well as devised, patented, and co-patented the first digital drafting machine, computer-aided photoplotting system for printed circuit boards, in addition to various robotic cutting and computer-controlled sewing systems. These inventions marked the beginning of a revolution in automated manufacturing processes that stands as Gerber's hallmark.
In the next 50 years, Gerber was the driving force behind the evolution, diversification, and global expansion of Gerber Scientific, Inc., renamed to reflect the company's growth. Gerber has been personally awarded more than 677 U.S. and foreign patents and received numerous honors for his contributions to science and engineering.
H. Joseph Gerber died in August 1996, leaving behind a legacy of innovation that resonates in the company's halls today. | 