FREDERICK BAUER

Age 90 years, peacefully passed away on August 6, 2011. He is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Geraldine (Gerry) (nee Fahrenkopf). Beloved father of Michael (late Yvonne, fiancée Patricia Schroeder) Appleton WI; Patricia Bauer (Edward Muller) Santa Monica, CA; Kathleen Franklin (Joseph) Phoenixville, PA. Devoted grandfather of John and Margaret Muller; Erica (Joshua) Nevas; Elizabeth (Joshua) Royalty; Michael, late James, and Joseph Franklin Jr. His mother, Eva Stroh Bauer, and father, Leo Bauer, predecease him. Fred graduated cum laude in 1941 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Wayne State College of Engineering, where he is honored in the Engineering Hall of Fame. As a novice engineer with Detroit Edison Company, Fred created a method of using direct-current telephone transmission line theory for the solution of heat-flow problems in long metallic power conductors. While returning to earn his Master of Science at Wayne State, Fred simultaneously began a 32-year career with the Ford Motor Company. At Ford, Fred was employed as a Quality Product Engineer, an Automotive Electrical Engineering Manager, Radio Engineering Manager, an Electrical Systems Engineer, and finally as head of the Electromagnetic Compatibility and Load Control Section. More than any other person in the world, Fred is responsible for the international standardization of vehicle radio frequency interference standards. He conceived major portions of the interference limit, which is utilized worldwide. Working with the International Special Committee on Radio Interference (CISPR), a non-governmental group, he convinced European leaders to widen the protected frequency spectrum and compromise with the U.S. Fred then persuaded the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE) to use similar concepts, and worked to modify the SAE standard, so that the European and SAE limits could become common. For his work toward standardization of radio frequencies, as well as for his innovations in the technology of electromagnetic compatibility, Fred received an Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) Life Fellow Citation in 1980. Fred was a member of various engineering societies and the author of many technical papers. He also served as the chief U.S. delegate for the International Special Committee on Radio Interference Subcommittee, and as the world head of automotive interference standardization. He served as Technical Advisor to the United States National Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission, and to the Canadian Standards Association. After retiring from Ford, Fred continued to participate in writing for national and international standards committees. His achievements demonstrated his understanding of the art of compromise, technical diplomacy, and tenacity of purpose. Besides the IEEE Life Fellowship, Fred is a Life Fellow of the Engineering Society of Detroit. The Electro Magnetic Compatibility Society of the IEEE awarded Fred the Richard R. Stoddard Award for contributing to the solution of a socio-technological problem in 2001. In 2002, he was the recipient of the Finegan Standards Medal of the American National Standards Institute, which honors an individual who has shown extraordinary leadership in the actual development and application of voluntary standards. Fred was an avid railroad aficionado. He was the co-author of a full-length book, “The Moffat Road,” a history of Colorado mountain railroading, which won an award from the American Association of State and Local History. Fred’s collection of forty railroad drumheads is on display in the Frederick Bauer Drumhead Gallery at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI. Fred was a fourth generation Detroiter and a great-grandson of Bernhard Stroh, founder of the Stroh Brewery Company. Fred was a past president of the Dearborn Historical Commission and the Sacred Heart Parish Council. As a member of the Apostleship of the Sea for 11 years, Fred welcomed seafarers arriving in Detroit ports and offered them food, the opportunity to call home, attend Mass, or shop. Fred and Gerry extensively traveled the world together but also enjoyed weekends at their cottage in Caseville, MI. Fred was ecstatic if a freighter or train were in view. Besides his wedding day on June 26, 1948, one of Fred’s happiest days was spent as a guest engineer on the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad, the highest standard gauge rail running south from Denver, CO through the Rockies. Fred’s smile, humor, and sharp wit will be remembered by all who knew him.