Victor Yen passed away January 13, 2012 after a long and valiant struggle against cancer. He was 73 years old.

He spent 40 years pioneering the use of infrared components.

Victor was born in Mexico where his father served as a Chinese diplomat. His family later traveled throughout the Far East, spending time in Shanghai, Thailand, and Taiwan. He immigrated to the United States, and was later naturalized as a US citizen. He studied at the University of Redlands and received a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering from California Institute of Technology.

After teaching engineering at Tri-state College in Indiana and working for Ford Motor Company, Victor began his infrared career as a sales engineer at Optical Coating Labs (OCLI) in Santa Rosa, CA. As Marketing Manager he developed applications for infrared filters and coatings and oversaw the sales of all OCLI products. He wrote the OCLI “Infrared Handbook” which is still used as an industry guide today.

While Vice President of Optoelectronics, Petaluma, CA, he worked to spread the use of lead sulfide (PbS) and lead selenide (PbSe) infrared detectors. After Optoelectronics’ acquisition by Textron, Victor worked as a marketing consultant for Cal Sensors in Santa Rosa, CA, where he led the commercialization of their PbS and PbSe detectors.

In 1997 Victor co-founded Electro Optical Components, Inc. (“EOC”), a specialty distributor of infrared detectors, filters and components. He managed EOC’s growth into a key supplier of these infrared components. His direct involvement led to the overwhelming success of several international principals in the US/North America market. Victor retired from EOC in 2007.

He is survived by his wife Carol, son David, and two grandsons in Northern California, and by one brother and one sister in Southern California.