Paul Boening—Early Electret Researcher in Shanghai and Wrocław (1922–1945)

The scientific career and the research activities of Paul Boening, especially during his tenures at Tongji University in Shanghai (Woosung Campus, 1922–1936) and the Technical University of Wrocław (TH Breslau, 1936–1945), are briefly reviewed. In particular, Boening’s pioneering investigations in the area of electrets and space charge in dielectrics are emphasized. We attempt to shed some light on the significant achievements of a virtually unknown contributor to the early history of electrets and of space-charge research and high-voltage engineering, during the 1920s and 1930s. It should be noted that dielectrics research was a truly international endeavor already at that time.