William Nicholas Hitchon

Hitchon was born in Skipton, West Riding of Yorkshire (now North Yorkshire), the eldest of three sons to Iona (née Hall) and Guy Hitchon.^[3][4][5] He was educated at Ermysted's Grammar School, Skipton, from 1968 to 1975.^[3] Later, he earned a bachelor's and master's degree in physics from Oxford University and a D.Phil. in engineering science from the same university.^[3][6]

In 1964, Hitchon was featured as a child in the Seven Up! documentary for ITV's World in Action series.^[2][3] His life was revisited at seven-year intervals in subsequent episodes by director Michael Apted until 2019.^[3][7]

In 1982, Hitchon joined the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the department of electrical and computer engineering.^[3][6] He became a professor in 1994 and served as the department chair from 1999 to 2002.^[3][6] In 2022, he took retirement.^[8] During his tenure, he authored three books.^[3]

Hitchon was married twice. His first marriage, in 1979, was to Jacqui Bush, who accompanied him when he moved to the United States, and with whom he had a son, but from whom he was later divorced. His second marriage, in 2001, was to Cryss Brunner.^[3][4]

• Plasma Processes for Semiconductor Fabrication