15 Facts About Victor Wouk

Victor Wouk was the pioneer in the development of electric and hybrid vehicles.

Victor Wouk, the younger brother of the writer Herman Wouk, was born in 1919 in New York City, the son of Esther and Abraham Isaac Wouk.

Victor Wouk's parents were Russian Jewish immigrants from what is today Belarus.

Victor Wouk's father toiled for many years to raise the family out of poverty before opening a successful laundry service.

Victor Wouk earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1939 and received his Ph.

Victor Wouk's dissertation was Static electricity generated during the distribution of gasoline.

In 1962, Victor Wouk was noticed by Russell Feldmann, president of the National Union Electric Company and one of the founders of Motorola, who had Renault Dauphines converted to electric power, and was in need of an efficient speed controller for them.

In 1963, Victor Wouk sold EECC to Gulton Industries and continued his work with them.

Victor Wouk started to design a system that would combine an internal combustion engine with an electric motor for motive power.

Victor Wouk began working on ideas for a hybrid for American Motors.

Victor Wouk was actively involved in the field of electric vehicle standardization, participating in relevant technical committees such as the IEC TC69 and the ISO TC22 SC21 on electric vehicles.

Victor Wouk remained an active member of these committees until the early 2000s.

Victor Wouk died of cancer on May 19,2005, in his Manhattan, New York home.

Victor Wouk was survived by his wife Joy, and sons Jonathan and Jordan.

Victor Wouk's nephew was Alan I Green, a psychiatrist at Dartmouth College.