Source: BYU News — Harvey Fletcher Posthumous Grammy Award
source confidence: High status: Useful updated 2026-08-11
Summary
BYU News article covering the 2016 posthumous Technical Grammy Award given to Harvey Fletcher, describing his role as BYU's first physics graduate and summarizing his contributions to stereophonic sound and acoustics research at Bell Labs.
Useful Claims
- Harvey Fletcher received a posthumous Technical Grammy Award in 2016.
- Fletcher was BYU's first physics graduate.
- Fletcher led acoustical research at Bell Telephone Laboratories.
- His work with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1932-1933 produced the first stereophonic recordings and live stereo transmission.
- Fletcher returned to BYU after his Bell Labs career and helped build its College of Physical and Engineering Sciences.
Verbatim
"BYU’s very first physics graduate, known to many as the “Father of Stereophonic Sound,” is being recognized by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at this year’s Grammy Awards." — BYU News article, opening
"The Recording Academy selected Dr. Harvey Fletcher to win a posthumous Technical Grammy Award for his work with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra, producing more than a hundred of the world’s first stereophonic recordings." — BYU News article, award description
"Fletcher was the first to successfully record stereo sound, perform a public demonstration of stereophonic sound, and transmit stereo sound live." — BYU News article, technical work
"Fletcher served as the head of the physics department at BYU from 1911 until 1916, and later became the founding dean of the College of Physical and Engineering Sciences from 1954 to 1958." — BYU News article, BYU roles
Reliability Notes
BYU News is an institutional publication with editorial standards; it is a reliable secondary source for Fletcher's BYU connection and the Grammy recognition. As a university communications piece it is promotional in tone and should be cross-checked against primary Grammy citation documents and Bell Labs historical records for technical claims.