Philosophy
Robert Noyce -- called a modern-day Thomas Edison in his 1990 obituary in the Los Angeles Times -- was smart, yes. The co-inventor of the microchip also was charming, good-looking and lucky that as a youth his penchant for invention didn't end with him breaking his neck.
Noyce has been honored with a Google Doodle on the 84th anniversary of his birth. For a man who invented something so small, Noyce dreamed big from an early age.
The son of a preacher and a preacher's daughter, Noyce at 13 built a box kite with his brother that he rode off the roof of a barn. He and the kite hit the ground. Then the brothers hooked the kite to the back bumper of a neighbor's car and, with the neighbor driving, managed to glide, getting the contraption up to 12 feet in the air.
Noyce also used an engine from an old washing machine and a propeller to amp up his sled.
When the Iowa native was attending Grinnell College, he stirred things up, setting off fireworks and tipping outhouses, but he really got in trouble when he and another student stole a 25-pound pig so they could have a luau with friends, according to author Tom Wolfe. They put an apple in the pig's mouth, roasted it, and there was a feast. The farmer, not pleased, brought criminal charges. In the end, Noyce weathered a one-semester suspension.
Still, things just seemed to go Noyce's way.
From Wolfe's "The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce: How the Sun Rose on the Silicon Valley":
Noyce, born Dec. 12, 1927, in Burlington, Iowa, had such a fast-moving brain that his friends were said to have called him "Rapid Robert." By the end of his life, he held 16 patents on semiconductor methods, devices and structures. He co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957, leaving it to co-found Intel in 1968.
His contribution to the integrated circuit is arguably his greatest work.
Microchips are interconnected electronic components etched or imprinted onto a tiny chip of semiconducting material, i.e. silicon. The microchip affected the design of all computers, shrinking the size of electronics and the cost of making them.
Noyce and Jack Kilby, who is credited as co-inventor of the integrated circuit, worked separately on the idea in 1958 and '59 and received separate patents. After several years of legal battle, Texas Instruments, Kilby's employer, and Fairchild Semiconductor agreed to cross-license their technologies.
In February 1990, four months before Noyce died at age 62 of a heart attack, he and Kilby were honored by President George H.W. Bush for their invention. It is "unimaginable to believe we could ever live without" integrated circuits, Bush said. "The microchip ... helped America change the world."
The nerd and entrepreneur
- Deceased--bob Pease
Bob Pease August 22nd, 1940 to June 18th, 2011 "PASSINGS: Bob Pease" Bob Pease, a Silicon Valley engineer and author on analog chip design, dies at 70 June 23rd, 2011 Los Angeles Times Bob Pease, 70, a prominent Silicon Valley engineer and author of...
- Fiction...an Internet 1,000x Faster?
We were also told of the reality of the above...so, do you believe this... "Tomorrow's Internet: 1,000 times faster" by Scott Jaschik October 21st, 2010 physorg.com Imagine if all the data traversing the world right now -- on long distance networks...
- Deceased--mark Shepherd Jr.
Texas Instruments introduced the first handheld calculator in 1967. Mark Shepherd Jr. January 18th, 1923 to February 4th, 2009 I suppose one could say his insight into the replacement of vacuum tubes and understanding of the value of transistors and...
- Deceased--c. Lester Hogan
C. Lester Hogan February 8th, 1920 to August 12th, 2008 He fought the corporation...and won. "C. Lester Hogan, Physicist Who Fought Motorola, Dies at 88" by Douglas Martin August 16th, 2008 The New York Times C. Lester Hogan, a pioneer in the electronics...
- The Nerd And Entrepreneur
Jack Kilby 1923 to 2005 Robert Noyce Jack Kilby's First Integrated Circuit ca. 1958 I suppose the achievements of Jack Kilby [and Robert Noyce] influenced the world much as the Voyage of Columbus. I suppose one could call this the saga of the nerd...
Philosophy
Google Doodle for Robert Noyce
"Robert Noyce, superstar of Silicon Valley, gets a Google Doodle"
December 12th, 2011
Los Angeles Times
December 12th, 2011
Los Angeles Times
Robert Noyce -- called a modern-day Thomas Edison in his 1990 obituary in the Los Angeles Times -- was smart, yes. The co-inventor of the microchip also was charming, good-looking and lucky that as a youth his penchant for invention didn't end with him breaking his neck.
Noyce has been honored with a Google Doodle on the 84th anniversary of his birth. For a man who invented something so small, Noyce dreamed big from an early age.
The son of a preacher and a preacher's daughter, Noyce at 13 built a box kite with his brother that he rode off the roof of a barn. He and the kite hit the ground. Then the brothers hooked the kite to the back bumper of a neighbor's car and, with the neighbor driving, managed to glide, getting the contraption up to 12 feet in the air.
Noyce also used an engine from an old washing machine and a propeller to amp up his sled.
When the Iowa native was attending Grinnell College, he stirred things up, setting off fireworks and tipping outhouses, but he really got in trouble when he and another student stole a 25-pound pig so they could have a luau with friends, according to author Tom Wolfe. They put an apple in the pig's mouth, roasted it, and there was a feast. The farmer, not pleased, brought criminal charges. In the end, Noyce weathered a one-semester suspension.
Still, things just seemed to go Noyce's way.
From Wolfe's "The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce: How the Sun Rose on the Silicon Valley":
With his strong face, his athlete's build, and the Gary Cooper manner, Bob Noyce projected what psychologists call the halo effect. People with the halo effect seem to know exactly what they're doing and moreover make you want to admire them for it. They make you see the halos over their heads.
Noyce, born Dec. 12, 1927, in Burlington, Iowa, had such a fast-moving brain that his friends were said to have called him "Rapid Robert." By the end of his life, he held 16 patents on semiconductor methods, devices and structures. He co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957, leaving it to co-found Intel in 1968.
His contribution to the integrated circuit is arguably his greatest work.
Microchips are interconnected electronic components etched or imprinted onto a tiny chip of semiconducting material, i.e. silicon. The microchip affected the design of all computers, shrinking the size of electronics and the cost of making them.
Noyce and Jack Kilby, who is credited as co-inventor of the integrated circuit, worked separately on the idea in 1958 and '59 and received separate patents. After several years of legal battle, Texas Instruments, Kilby's employer, and Fairchild Semiconductor agreed to cross-license their technologies.
In February 1990, four months before Noyce died at age 62 of a heart attack, he and Kilby were honored by President George H.W. Bush for their invention. It is "unimaginable to believe we could ever live without" integrated circuits, Bush said. "The microchip ... helped America change the world."
The nerd and entrepreneur
- Deceased--bob Pease
Bob Pease August 22nd, 1940 to June 18th, 2011 "PASSINGS: Bob Pease" Bob Pease, a Silicon Valley engineer and author on analog chip design, dies at 70 June 23rd, 2011 Los Angeles Times Bob Pease, 70, a prominent Silicon Valley engineer and author of...
- Fiction...an Internet 1,000x Faster?
We were also told of the reality of the above...so, do you believe this... "Tomorrow's Internet: 1,000 times faster" by Scott Jaschik October 21st, 2010 physorg.com Imagine if all the data traversing the world right now -- on long distance networks...
- Deceased--mark Shepherd Jr.
Texas Instruments introduced the first handheld calculator in 1967. Mark Shepherd Jr. January 18th, 1923 to February 4th, 2009 I suppose one could say his insight into the replacement of vacuum tubes and understanding of the value of transistors and...
- Deceased--c. Lester Hogan
C. Lester Hogan February 8th, 1920 to August 12th, 2008 He fought the corporation...and won. "C. Lester Hogan, Physicist Who Fought Motorola, Dies at 88" by Douglas Martin August 16th, 2008 The New York Times C. Lester Hogan, a pioneer in the electronics...
- The Nerd And Entrepreneur
Jack Kilby 1923 to 2005 Robert Noyce Jack Kilby's First Integrated Circuit ca. 1958 I suppose the achievements of Jack Kilby [and Robert Noyce] influenced the world much as the Voyage of Columbus. I suppose one could call this the saga of the nerd...