Jack Kilby
American electronics engineer (1923–2005)
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Jack St. Clair Kilby (November 8, 1923 – June 20, 2005) was an American electronics engineer who took part, along with Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor, in the realization of the first integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments in 1958.[2]: 22 For this invention, Kilby shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics.[3]
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November 8, 1923
Jack Kilby | |
|---|---|
Kilby, early 1960s | |
| Born | Jack St. Clair Kilby November 8, 1923 Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | June 20, 2005 (aged 81) |
| Education | |
| Known for | Invention of the integrated circuit |
| Spouse |
Barbara Annegers (m. 1948) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microelectronics |
| Institutions | Texas Instruments (1958–1983) |
Kilby was also a co-inventor of the handheld calculator and the thermal printer, for which he had the patents. He also had patents for seven other inventions.[4]
Early life and education
Jack St. Clair Kilby was born on November 8, 1923, in Jefferson City, Missouri. His father ran a small electric company that served customers in rural western Kansas.
Kilby grew up and attended school in Great Bend, Kansas, graduating from Great Bend High School. Today, road signs at the entrances to the town commemorate his time there, and the Commons Area at Great Bend High School has been named The Jack Kilby Commons Area.
Kilby received his B.S. and M.S. degrees, both in electrical engineering, from the University of Illinois in 1947 and the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee in 1950, respectively. [5]
Invention of the integrated circuit
Kilby was vital to the invention of the integrated circuit. In mid-1958, as a newly employed engineer at Texas Instruments (TI), he did not yet have the right to a summer vacation. Kilby spent the summer working on the problem in circuit design that was commonly called the "tyranny of numbers," and he finally came to the conclusion that the manufacturing of circuit components en masse in a single piece of semiconductor material could provide a solution. On September 12, he presented his findings to company's management, which included Mark Shepherd. He showed them a piece of germanium with an oscilloscope attached, pressed a switch, and the oscilloscope showed a continuous sine wave, proving that his integrated circuit worked, and thus that he had solved the problem.[6] U.S. Patent 3,138,743 for "Miniaturized electronic circuits," the first integrated circuit, was filed on February 6, 1959.[7] It was notable for having different components (transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.) on one single substrate.[2]: 22 Along with Robert Noyce (who independently made a similar circuit a few months later), Kilby is generally credited as co-inventor of the integrated circuit.
Later career
Kilby went on to pioneer military, industrial, and commercial applications of microchip technology. He headed teams that created the first military system and the first computer incorporating integrated circuits. He invented the handheld calculator (along with Jerry Merryman and James Van Tassel[8]).
In 1970, Kilby took a leave of absence from TI to work as an independent inventor. He explored, among other subjects, the use of silicon technology for generating electrical power from sunlight. From 1978 to 1984, he held the position of Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M University.
Kilby retired from Texas Instruments in 1983.
Family
In 1948, Kilby married Barbara Annegers. They had two daughters, Ann and Janet.[9]
Death and legacy
Kilby died of cancer on June 20, 2005, in Dallas, Texas, at the age of 81.[10]
On December 14, 2005, Texas Instruments created the Historic TI Archives. The Jack Kilby family donated his personal manuscripts and his personal photograph collection to Southern Methodist University (SMU). The collection will be cataloged and stored at DeGolyer Library, SMU.
In 2008, the SMU School of Engineering, with the DeGolyer Library and the Library of Congress, hosted a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the birth of the digital age with Kilby's Nobel Prize-winning invention of the integrated circuit. Symposia and exhibits examined the many ways in which technology and engineers shaped the modern world. Kilby held an honorary doctorate of science from SMU and was a longtime associate of SMU through the Kilby Foundation.
Recognition
Awards
| Year | Organization | Award | Citation | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 |  Franklin Institute |
Stuart Ballantine Medal[a] | "For the development of monolithic integrated circuits (microchips)." | [11] |
| 1966 | IEEE |
IEEE David Sarnoff Award | "For his outstanding creative contribution in the field of monolithic integrated circuits, for his key inventions and for his team leadership in the application of integrated circuits to large scale systems." | [12] |
| 1978 | IEEE |
IEEE Cledo Brunetti Award[a] | "For contributions to miniaturization through inventions and the development of integrated circuits." | [13] |
| 1982 | ASME |
Holley Medal | [14] | |
| 1986 | IEEE |
IEEE Medal of Honor | "For fundamental contributions to semiconductor integrated circuit technology." | [15] |
| 1989 | ASME |
Holley Medal[b] | [14] | |
| 1989 | National Academy of Engineering |
Charles Stark Draper Prize[a] | "For their independent development of the monolithic integrated circuit." | [16] |
| 1993 | IEEE Computer Society |
Computer Pioneer Award | "For co-inventing the integrated circuit." | [17] |
| 1993 |  Inamori Foundation |
Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology | "Creation of the Concept of the Monolithic Semiconductor Integrated Circuit and Its Demonstration." | [18] |
| 1999 | Western Society of Engineers |
Washington Award | "For his distinguished electronics career, including the invention of the monolithic integrated circuit which was the foundation for modern electrics." | [19] |
| 2000 |  Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
Nobel Prize in Physics[c] | "For his part in the invention of the integrated circuit." | [3] |
| 2000 | University of Pennsylvania |
Harold Pender Award | "For his contribution to the invention of the integrated circuit, or microchip." | [20] |
Memberships
| Year | Organization | Type | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | National Academy of Engineering |
Member | [21] |
| 2001 | American Philosophical Society |
Member | [22] |
National awards
| Year | Head of state | Award | Citation | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Richard Nixon |
National Medal of Science | "For original conceptions and valuable contributions in the production and application of integrated circuits." | [23] |
| 1990 | George H. W. Bush |
National Medal of Technology and Innovation | "For original conceptions and valuable contributions in the production and application of integrated circuits." | [24] |
Honorary degrees
| Year | University | Degree | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
[25] | |
| 1990 | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Doctor of Science | [26] |
| 1995 | Southern Methodist University |
Doctor of Science | [27] |
| 1996 | Yale University |
Doctor of Science | [28] |
Commemoration
The Kilby Award Foundation was founded in 1980 in his honor, and the IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal was created in 1995.
The Kilby Labs, TI's research laboratory for silicon manufacturing and integrated circuit design, is named after him.
The Jack Kilby Computer Centre at the Merchiston Campus of Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh is also named in his honor.[29]
A statue of Jack Kilby stands in Texas Instruments Plaza on the campus of The University of Texas at Dallas.[30]
Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kansas, holds an annual Jack Kilby STEM Day. [31]
See also
Notes
- Awarded jointly with Robert Noyce.
- Awarded jointly with Jerry Merryman and James H. Van Tassel.
- Awarded jointly with Zhores Alferov and Herbert Kroemer.
