It is with great sadness that Relume Technologies announces the death of Peter Hochstein, founder of the company and an early innovator in the LED lighting field. Mr. Hochstein passed away unexpectedly over the Memorial Day weekend at his Troy, Mich. home at the age of 65; he is survived by his loving wife Marie, his son, Kevin Baird; and daughter, Jessica (Armour) .
A brilliant thinker whose interests spanned a wide range of academic and technical subjects, Mr. Hochstein’s many discoveries and advancements in the LED lighting sector eventually led to 12 patents and the founding of Relume Technologies (then Relume Corporation) in 1994. First as President and more recently as Chief Technical Officer and Company Director, Mr. Hochstein laid the foundation for the technical excellence and advanced product solutions for which Relume Technologies is known.
Over the last decade, Mr. Hochstein had developed a deep array of important and breakthrough technology discoveries in the areas of thermal management of LEDs and smart grid networking control systems. This technological platform serves as a core differentiator for Relume in the LED lighting market.
Mr. Hochstein began his career in 1965 at Owens Illinois Technical Center working on the development of ultra-high temperature induction heating instrumentation. In 1966, he joined General Motors as a Senior Project Engineer in their Materials and Structures Laboratory where he worked on numerous automotive and non-automotive related projects including classified contracts on reentry physics for ballistic missiles and early development of LED lighting.
In 1975, Mr. Hochstein left General Motors to form Quantex Engineering, which provided instrumentation, test standards and proprietary electronics technologies and hardware for the automotive industry and allied suppliers.
In 1994 Mr. Hochstein formed Relume Corporation, where he continued to invent unique solutions to address complex LED lighting challenges and develop related technologies intended to be made available for commercial use.
Mr. Hochstein has more than 80 patents to his credit, with 12 patents relating to LED thermal management and related technologies and four additional patents pending.
A generous man, Hochstein contributed to the Oxford High School robotics team (RoboCats) and was in the process of establishing an internship program for OHS students at Relume.
At the family’s request, contributions in Peter Hochstein’s name may be made to the South Oakland Shelter, 431 N Main Street, Royal Oak, Mich. 48067.