Losing Iris, Losing ECD
Lillian Hartmann Hoddeson, Peter Garrett · The MIT Press eBooks · 2018
This chapter recounts two devastating losses that befell Ovshinsky in less than a year’s time (2006-07). The first was the sudden death of his wife and partner Iris, who had played a vital role in his life and work. The second was his loss of control over ECD, the company they had founded and fostered together for forty-seven years. Ovshinsky’s position in ECD had been eroding for some years, but the main cause of his forced “retirement” was the Sarbanes-Oxley Bill, which required replacing many of his supporters on the Board of Directors. The new board not only pushed Ovshinsky out of ECD but also eliminated most of the company’s research programs, including those devoted to hydrogen-powered cars and the cognitive computer, keeping only the profitable United Solar and Ovonic Battery divisions.