Vulf Ozechov passed away unexpectedly on 9 June 2013 at the age of 78 at his home in Skokie, IL. Vulf designed transformers, inductors, motors, and electromechanical equipment for more than half a century at companies and organizations on three continents.
Ozechov was born on 22 May 1935 in Lazdiy, Lithuania. At the age of seven he escaped war torn Lithuania with his mother and older brother to the village of Martinovka in the Ural Mountains in Russia. While there he worked as a laborer delivering fresh water from a nearby river to the potato fields and attended the local school. Vulf loved studying and excelled in math and the sciences. However, getting to school was a challenge. The school was located some 3 miles from the village and the winters were particularly harsh. The family had one pair of shoes, which was shared by the two brothers. Vulf never missed a day of school.
Early lessons of hard work, modesty, commitment, and dedication to the task at hand learned at Martinovka carried Vulf throughout his life. In 1960 he earned a masters degree in Electrical Engineering. He graduated at the top of his class with special distinction from the leading engineering school in Lithuania, Kaunas Politechnical Institute (“KPI”). While attending KPI , Vulf worked to support himself as an electrician and technician at CU-6 and Energosbit. He was the only graduate of his class who attended KPI full time while also working full time. As a young engineer he started working for ELFA, the only appliance manufacturer in Vilnius Lithuania and one of the main design centers for all appliance manufacturers throughout Soviet Union at the time. At the age of 29, Vulf designed and developed the first transformer used in refrigerators manufactured in the Soviet Union. The invention earned him several design medals and established his early credentials as a transformer expert.
In 1972, Vulf and his family immigrated to Israel. Shortly after his arrival, and without any Hebrew or English skills, Vulf was offered the position of Project Engineer at the Israeli Aircraft Industry. He quickly rose through the ranks gaining the highest engineering position in his field – Senior Design Engineer rank 10. While most of his work at the Israeli Aircraft Industry remains undisclosed, it is a matter of public record that he was one of the main engineers responsible for the development and manufacture of engines for the Israeli Tank, Mirkava.
In 1979, Vulf and his family immigrated to the United States. Without the knowledge of any English, Vulf immediately found employment at J.B. Electronics as Chief Engineer responsible for the design and development of high quality military and commercial transformers. A few years later in 1981, Vulf left J. B. Electronics to go work for Precision Components, Inc. where he continued to develop his expertise in magnetics and power conversion.
Vulf took a position as Chief Engineer at Microtran in 1986. He remained at Microtran from 1986 to 1994, when Microtran was purchased by Tamura. Vulf’s modem/telecom transformer designs at Microtran were a major factor in Tamura’s decision to buy the company. Vulf continued at Tamura until he retired in 1996.
In 1996 Vulf retired from Tamura Corporation and remained active in the industry as a consultant, often saying it helped keep his mind sharp. Until the time of his death, he worked on new designs and mentored younger designers for CET Technology.
A modest and private man, he dedicated his life to his family and his work as a Magnetics Engineer.