Thomas G. Huber: November 18, 1936 - December 2, 2019
JEOL USA is saddened by the passing of its former President, Thomas G. Huber on December 2, 2019. Those who knew him often recall his larger-than-life personality, positive influence on employees and company culture, and his deep connection to the scientific community. Tom was the driving force behind the formation of the USA subsidiary of JEOL, Ltd. in 1966 and after 37 years of leadership retired as Vice Chairman Emeritus in 2003.
Photo taken at a dinner held during the 1966 International Conference on Electron Microscopy (ICEM) in Kyoto. Tom Huber (second from the right, bottom row) and Kenji Kazato. JEOL Ltd. founder and President at that time (second from the left, back row). Tom was the National Sales Manager at the time.
Tom was instrumental in strengthening an applications and service support network as well as building a field sales staff. He founded an application training group, “The JEOL Institute,” hiring skilled applications staff in both TEM and SEM to train customers not only on what buttons to push or knobs to twist but to teach the fundamental science behind the techniques used in electron microscopy. Tom was at the helm of JEOL USA during many advances in microscopy, microanalysis, NMR, mass spectrometry, and E-beam lithography. His input to our parent company on both the technical and business aspects shaped the future of JEOL products by helping our designers and researchers understand the technology requirements of the scientific and high-tech industrial community in the Americas.
Tom was a strong proponent of and very active in both local and national societies and understood their value to both the scientific community and to manufacturers of scientific instruments. Tom always offered JEOL’s financial support and was the first President of the Microanalysis Society to come from a manufacturer. For his contributions to MAS Tom was named as part of the inaugural class of MAS Fellows in 2019. Tom’s contribution and impact on JEOL and the electron microscopy community cannot be overstated.
Tom is survived by his wife Ann, his son Todd, his daughter-in-law Meg, and grandchildren Kathleen and Thomas. Visiting hours are Friday, December 20th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Eustis & Cornell Funeral Home i n Marblehead.