George Hecht EE’30 began working at Bell Labs in lower Manhattan as a messenger when he was 16 years old. He studied electrical engineering at The Cooper Union at night while he continued working for Bell Labs. He continued working there when he graduated from The Cooper Union, where he helped produce Bell’s first crystal used in radio broadcasting. During W.W. II, he invented components of the Navy’s first radar system.
He left Bell Labs in 1959. He was co owner of Romero Metals Products in Long Island City, which manufactured equipment for tire and rubber companies.
George was a philanthropist, giving support to The Cooper Union, the Central Park Conservancy, the New York Zoological Society and the Horticultural Society of New York, as well as cultural institutions like Channel 13 and the New York Public Library. A major gift from Mr. Hecht made it possible for Cooper Union and various city agencies to collaborate on the transformation of the traffic triangle located north of the CU Residence Hall at 9th Street and 3rd Avenue into a small park.
George Hecht was the CUAA Alumnus of the Year in 1992. He passed away at age 90 in Astoria, NY in 1998.