Viktor Adolf Pollak was born in Vienna on 17 March 1917. Orphaned, he moved to Czechoslovakia to be raised by his uncle. After high school he moved to Prague and took up studies in both electrical engineering and medicine. His education was suspended with the German invasion of Czechoslovakia; Pollak was imprisoned in the Thersienstadt concentration camp. Following liberation in 1945, Pollak returned to his studies, earning a degree in Electrical Engineering (1946), a DTSc (1953) and Cand.Sc.-PhD in 1966. Pollak held several research and consultative posts in the fields of automation, communications, and medical electronics throughout Europe and Asia. In 1968, he joined the University of Saskatchewan and in 1970, became chair of the Biomedical Engineering Division. Pollak was given a DSc from the University and was named Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 1984. He continued to write and conduct research until his death in 1999.