He conducted research in a laboratory for General Electric, and his expertise in semiconductors and the physics of materials allowed him to advise two US departments.
His father was a prominent pianist and choral conductor, but in 1934 lost his position under the Nazi regime and was deported to Dachau in the wake of the Kristallnacht.
[2] After graduating, Ehrenreich studied at Columbia University for an academic year, returning to Cornell in 1951 where he began work as an assistant teacher.
He took an interest in semiconductors and related problems, and started writing his doctoral thesis under Albert Overhauser on the "Scattering of Holes by Phonons in Germanium",[5] finishing it in 1955.
[1] During the 1973 oil crisis, he was asked to assess solar photovoltaic cells, served as an advisor to the Department of Energy, and headed a study group on the matter from 1977 to 1981 before testifying to Congress in 1985.
[1] He also served on the DARPA Materials Council of the Department of Defense for 20 years, and participated in numerous national and international committees.
"[6] Ehrenreich was also part of a committee that decided on Free Speech Guidelines at Harvard in the wake of an intense debate about a Confederate Flag hung from a dorm room window in 1990.