Dr. James Emery Mazo Jr., a world-renowned information theorist, passed away on Sept. 27, 2013, at the age of 76, following a brief illness, at Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, N.J.

James was born on Jan. 15, 1937, in Morristown, N.J., an only child to Hungarian immigrants. He received a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1958 and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He served as a research associate at the University of Indiana before joining Bell Laboratories in 1964, where he worked for 37 years, heading one of the most successful and pioneering research groups in information theory, the acclaimed "Mathematics of Communications Research Department" at Bell Laboratories, from 1993 until his retirement in 2001. 

His wise and gentle leadership not only had an impact on basic theoretical developments in information theory but also had a practical impact. One of his far-reaching, worldwide contributions addressed the design of modems for a PCM transmissions environment, which evolved to what became known as the now-classic 56K modem technology. He also made notable contributions within the fields of magnetic recording as well as holographic imaging and optical communications, and other significant and influential scientific contributions which now comprise the central components of state-of-the-art, as well as future, communication systems. 

He was a life fellow of IEEE. James was a man who was gentle and wise, eschewing praise or gratitude - he was passionate about talent, his work and colleagues.