Dr. Felix Zandman, the founder of the Vishay Precision Group business (NYSE: VPG) and the inventor of the foil technology products that are the basis of VPG, died on June 4, 2011, at age 83. He was also the founder & Executive Chairman of the Board, Chief Technical Officer and Chief Business Development Officer, of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE: VSH). Dr. Zandman was born in 1928 in Grodno, Poland.

Dr. Zandman's personal experiences, intelligence and creativity had a profound impact on Vishay Precision Group, the country of Israel, the electronic components industry, including the test and measurement industry of VPG, and everyone with whom he worked. His courage, perseverance and dedication served as an inspiration to all who knew him.

In October 1941, he and his family were arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Grodno Ghetto. Dr. Zandman survived the Holocaust by hiding with his uncle and two other people under the floor boards in the house of a Polish family for 17 months. While in hiding, Dr. Zandman's uncle taught him trigonometry and higher mathematics. Following the war, in 1946, Dr. Zandman emigrated to France, where he earned a mechanical engineering degree and MS in physics from the University of Nancy (France) and a PhD in physics from the University of Paris, Sorbonne.

In 1956, Dr. Zandman moved to the United States and began working for Tatnall Measuring Systems, a division of the Budd Company in Philadelphia, as director of basic research. During this time he developed PhotoStress® measurement instruments and revolutionary temperatureresistant foil resistors, which enable manufacturers of a wide assortment of precision products to upgrade their performance. This technology, and related improvements to which Dr. Zandman contributed, continues to be an integral part of the VPG business. When the Budd Company declined to market Dr. Zandman's temperature-resistant resistors, Dr. Zandman, with financial support from his cousin Alfred P. Slaner, founded Vishay Intertechnology in 1962. Vishay Interetechnology and Vishay Precision Group were named after Dr. Zandman’s ancestral village in Lithuania, in memory of family members who perished in the Holocaust.

Under Dr. Zandman's leadership, Vishay Intertechnology grew into a worldwide company with over 22,000 employees and manufacturing facilities in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Israel, and with sales offices around the world. In July, 2010, Dr. Zandman’s work and foresight led to the creation of VPG, a leading producer of sensors based on resistive foil technology and sensorbased systems, as a spin-off from Vishay Intertechnology.

Dr. Zandman published numerous scientific papers, three textbooks, and an autobiography ("Never the Last Journey") and held over 70 patents. He won numerous awards including the Best Strategic Investor Award from the Israel Manufacturers Association (awarded by the President of Israel); the Legion of Honor, France (awarded by the President of the Republic of France); the Order of Merit for Research and Invention (France); the Franklin Institute Medal for Science (USA); the Electronic Industries Alliance Medal of Honor (presented at a ceremony attended by the President of the United States); and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Electronic Distributors Association. He was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Beer Sheva (Israel) and from the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion). In 1994, Dr. Zandman also became a citizen of the State of Israel.

Dr. Zandman is survived by his wife Mrs. Ruta Zandman; his children, Dr. Gisele Zandman Goddard and her husband Eli, Mrs. Ariele Zandman Klausner and her husband Steven, VPG Vice President, and Mr. Marc Zandman, VPG Chairman, and his wife Orit; and nine grandchildren.