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Robert Noyce

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Robert Noyce
Noyce in 1959
Born
Robert Norton Noyce

(1927-12-12)December 12, 1927
Burlington,Iowa,U.S.
DiedJune 3, 1990(1990-06-03)(aged 62)
Austin,Texas,U.S.
EducationGrinnell College(BA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology(PhD)
OccupationPhysicist
Known forCo-founder ofFairchild SemiconductorandIntel
Spouses
​
​
(m.1953;div.1974)​
​
(m.1974)​
Children4
AwardsFaraday Medal(1979)
Harold Pender Award(1980)
John Fritz Medal(1989)
Websitewww.ncfp.org/people/the-noyce-foundation/

Robert Norton Noyce(December 12, 1927 – June 3, 1990), nicknamed "the Mayor of Silicon Valley", was an Americanphysicistand entrepreneur who co-foundedFairchild Semiconductorin 1957 andIntel Corporationin 1968. He was also credited with the realization of the firstmonolithic integrated circuitor microchip made with silicon, which fueled thepersonal computer revolutionand gaveSilicon Valleyits name.[nb 1][1]

Early life[edit]

Noyce was born on December 12, 1927, inBurlington, Iowa,[2][3][4][5][6]the third of four sons[4]of the Rev. Ralph Brewster Noyce.[7]His father graduated fromDoane College,Oberlin College,and theChicago Theological Seminaryand was also nominated for aRhodes Scholarship.[8]

His mother, Harriet May Norton, was the daughter of the Rev. Milton J. Norton, aCongregationalclergyman,and Louise Hill. She was a graduate of Oberlin College and prior to her marriage, she had dreams of becoming a missionary.[9]JournalistTom Wolfedescribed her as "an intelligent woman with a commanding will".[10]

Noyce had three siblings: Donald Sterling Noyce, Gaylord Brewster Noyce and Ralph Harold Noyce.[4][11]His brother Donald would go on to become a respected professor and associate dean of undergraduate affairs in theUC Berkeley College of Chemistry;Robert later created the Donald Sterling Noyce Prize to reward excellence in undergraduate teaching atBerkeley.[12]His brother Gaylord would go on to become a respected professor ofpractical theologyand dean of students atYale Divinity School;in 1961, while a young professor, he was arrested for being one of theFreedom Ridersof thecivil rights movement.[13]

Noyce's earliest childhood memory involved beating his father atping pongand feeling shocked when his mother reacted to the news of his victory with a distracted "Wasn't that nice of Daddy to let you win?" Even at the age of five, Noyce felt offended by the notion of intentionally losing. "That's not the game", he sulked to his mother. "If you're going to play, play to win!"[11]

When Noyce was twelve years old in the summer of 1940, he and his brother built a boy-sized aircraft, which they used to fly from the roof of the Grinnell College stables. Later he built a radio from scratch and motorized his sled by welding a propeller and a motor from an old washing machine to the back of it.[14]His parents were both religious but Noyce became an agnostic and irreligious in later life.[15]

Education[edit]

Noyce grew up inGrinnell, Iowa.While in high school, he exhibited a talent for mathematics and science and took theGrinnell Collegefreshman physics course in his senior year. He graduated from Grinnell High School in 1945 and entered Grinnell College in the fall of that year. He was the star diver on the 1947Midwest ConferenceChampionship swim team.[10]While at Grinnell College, Noyce sang, played the oboe and acted. In Noyce's junior year, he got in trouble for stealing a 25-pound pig from the Grinnell mayor's farm and roasting it at a schoolluau.The mayor wrote to his parents stating that “In the agricultural state of Iowa, stealing a domestic animal is a felony which carries a minimum penalty of a year in prison and a fine of one dollar.” Noyce faced expulsion from school butGrant Gale,Noyce's physics professor and president of the college, did not want to lose a student with Noyce's potential. They compromised with the mayor so that Grinnell would compensate him for the pig, and suspend Noyce for one semester. He returned in February 1949.[16]He graduatedPhi Beta Kappawith a BA inphysicsandmathematicsin 1949. He also received a single honor from his classmates: the Brown Derby Prize, which recognized "the senior man who earned the best grades with the least amount of work".[17]

While Noyce was an undergraduate, he was fascinated by the field of physics and took a course in the subject that was taught by professorGrant Gale.Gale obtained two of the first transistors ever produced byBell Labsand showed them off to his class. Noyce was hooked.[10][18][19]Gale suggested that he apply to thedoctoral programin physics atMIT,which he did.[20]

Noyce had a mind so quick that his graduate school friends called him "Rapid Robert".[21]He received hisdoctorateinphysicsfrom MIT in 1953.

Career[edit]

Robert Noyce andGordon Moorein front of the Intel SC1 building in Santa Clara in 1970

After graduating from MIT in 1953, Noyce took a job as a research engineer at thePhilcoCorporation inPhiladelphia.He left in 1956 to joinWilliam Shockley,a co-inventor of the transistor and eventualNobel Prizewinner, at theShockley Semiconductor Laboratory[22]inMountain View, California.

Noyce left a year later with the "traitorous eight"[23]upon having issues with Shockley's management style, and co-founded the influentialFairchild Semiconductorcorporation. According toSherman Fairchild,Noyce's impassioned presentation of his vision was the reason Fairchild had agreed to create the semiconductor division for the traitorous eight.

Noyce was vital to theinvention of the integrated circuit.AfterJack Kilbyinvented the firsthybrid integrated circuit(hybrid IC) in 1958,[24]Noyce in 1959 independently invented a new type of integrated circuit, themonolithic integrated circuit(monolithic IC).[25][26]It was more practical than Kilby'simplementation.Noyce's design was made ofsilicon,whereas Kilby's chip was made ofgermanium.Noyce's invention was the firstmonolithic integrated circuitchip.[27]Unlike Kilby's IC which had external wire connections and could not be mass-produced, Noyce's monolithic IC chip put all components on a chip of silicon and connected them with copper lines.[26]The basis for Noyce's monolithic IC was theplanar process,developed in early 1959 byJean Hoerni.

Noyce andGordon MoorefoundedIntelin 1968 when they left Fairchild Semiconductor.[21][28]Arthur Rock,the chairman of Intel's board and a major investor in the company, said that for Intel to succeed, the company needed Noyce, Moore andAndrew Grove.And it needed them in that order. Noyce: the visionary, born to inspire; Moore: the virtuoso of technology; and Grove: the technologist turned management scientist.[29]The relaxed culture that Noyce brought to Intel was a carry-over from his style at Fairchild Semiconductor. He treated employees as family, rewarding and encouraging teamwork. Noyce's management style could be called "roll up your sleeves". He shunned fancy corporate cars, reserved parking spaces, private jets, offices, and furnishings in favor of a less-structured, relaxed working environment in which everyone contributed and no one received lavish benefits. By declining the usual executive perks he stood as a model for future generations of Intel CEOs.

At Intel, he oversaw invention of themicroprocessoras a concept byTed Hoffand design of the first commercial microprocessorIntel 4004byFederico Faggin,which was his second revolution.[30][31][32]

Personal life[edit]

In 1953, Noyce marriedElizabeth Bottomley,[33]who was a 1951 graduate ofTufts University.While living inLos Altos, California,they had four children: William B., Pendred, Priscilla, and Margaret. Elizabeth lovedNew England,so the family acquired a 50-acre coastal summer home inBremen, Maine.Elizabeth and the children would summer there.[34]Robert would visit during the summer, while continuing to work at Intel. They divorced in 1974.[35]

On November 27, 1974, Noyce marriedAnn Schmeltz Bowers.Bowers, a graduate ofCornell University,[36]also received an honorary Ph.D. fromSanta Clara University,where she was a trustee for nearly 20 years. She was the first director of personnel for Intel Corporation and the first vice president of human resources forApple Inc.She was a founding trustee and served as chair of the board for the Noyce Foundation, founded in 1990.[37]Bowers died on January 24, 2024, at the age of 86.

Noyce kept active his entire life. He enjoyed reading Hemingway, and he flew his own airplane and also participated inhang-glidingandscuba diving.Noyce believed thatmicroelectronicswould continue to advance in complexity and sophistication well beyond its current state; this led to the question of what use society would make of the technology. In his last interview, Noyce was asked what he would do if he were "emperor" of the United States. He said that he would, among other things, "...make sure we are preparing our next generation to flourish in a high-tech age. And that means education of the lowest and the poorest, as well as at the graduate school level."[38]

Death[edit]

Noyce suffered a heart attack at age 62 at home on June 3, 1990, and later died at the Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas.[39]

Awards and honors[edit]

In July 1959, he filed forU.S. patent 2,981,877"Semiconductor Device and Lead Structure", a type ofintegrated circuit.This independent effort was recorded only a few months after the key findings of inventorJack Kilby.For his co-invention of the integrated circuit and its world-transforming impact, three presidents of the United States honored him.

Noyce was a holder of many honors and awards. PresidentRonald Reaganawarded him theNational Medal of Technologyin 1987.[40]Two years later, he was inducted into theU.S. Business Hall of Famesponsored byJunior Achievement,[41]during ablack tieceremony keynoted by PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush.[42]In 1990 Noyce – along with, among others, Jack Kilby and transistor inventorJohn Bardeen– received a "Lifetime Achievement Medal" during the bicentennial celebration of the Patent Act.

Noyce received theFranklin Institute'sStuart Ballantine Medalin 1966.[43]He was awarded theIEEE Medal of Honorin 1978 "for his contributions to the silicon integrated circuit, a cornerstone of modern electronics."[44][45]In 1979, he was awarded theNational Medal of Science.He also receivedFaraday Medalin 1979. Noyce was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciencesin 1980.[46]TheNational Academy of Engineeringawarded him its 1989Charles Stark Draper Prize.[47]

The science building at his alma mater,Grinnell College,is named after him.

On December 12, 2011, Noyce was honored with aGoogle Doodlecelebrating the 84th anniversary of his birth.[48]

In 2000, Kilby received theNobel Prize in Physics;in his acceptance ( "Nobel Lecture" ), he mentions a small number of people whose work contributed to the success of integrated circuits, mentioning Noyce three times.[49]

Legacy[edit]

TheNoyce Foundationwas founded in 1990 by his family. The foundation was dedicated to improving public education in mathematics and science in gradesK-12.[37]The foundation announced that it would end operations in 2015.[50]

California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), established The Noyce School of Applied Computing in the College of Engineering with a $60 million gift from the Robert N. Noyce Trust in June of 2022.

In 1990, Congress established the Robert Noyce National Math and Science Teachers Corps Act which authorizes awards up to 5,000 scholarships annually to assist individuals in obtaining a teaching degree.[51]These awards are granted to institutions of higher education who administer the projects after successful proposal submissions through the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program ( "Noyce" ).[52]Pre-service teachers are recruited by their college/university and must be STEM majors. Scholarship recipients to agree to teach science or mathematics in a high-need school districts for at least two years for each fiscal year the recipient received such a scholarship. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) works with the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to identify and disseminate information about effective practices and strategies for attracting, selecting, and preparing new K-12 STEM teachers and retaining them in the STEM teacher workforce.[53]

Patents[edit]

Noyce was granted 15 patents. Patents are listed in order issued, not filed.

  • U.S. patent 2,875,141Method and apparatus for forming semiconductor structures,filed August 1954, issued February 1959, assigned to Philco Corporation
  • U.S. patent 2,929,753Transistor structure and method,filed April 1957, issued March 1960, assigned to Beckmann Instruments
  • U.S. patent 2,959,681Semiconductor scanning device,filed June 1959, issued November 1960, assigned to Fairchild Semiconductor
  • U.S. patent 2,968,750Transistor structure and method of making the same,filed March 1957, issued January 1961, assigned to Clevite Corporation
  • U.S. patent 2,971,139Semiconductor switching device,filed June 1959, issued February 1961, assigned to Fairchild Semiconductor
  • U.S. patent 2,981,877Semiconductor Device and Lead Structure,filed July 1959, issued April 1961, assigned to Fairchild Semiconductor
  • U.S. patent 3,010,033Field effect transistor,filed January 1958, issued November 1961, assigned to Clevite Corporation
  • U.S. patent 3,098,160Field controlled avalanche semiconductive device,filed February 1958, issued July 1963, assigned to Clevite Corporation
  • U.S. patent 3,108,359Method for fabricating transistors,filed June 1959, issued October 1963, assigned to Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp.
  • U.S. patent 3,111,590Transistor structure controlled by an avalanche barrier,filed June 1958, issued November 1963, assigned to Clevite Corporation
  • U.S. patent 3,140,206Method of making a transistor structure(coinventor William Shockley), filed April 1957, issued July 1964, assigned to Clevite Corporation
  • U.S. patent 3,150,299Semiconductor circuit complex having isolation means,filed September 1959, issued September 1964, assigned to Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp.
  • U.S. patent 3,183,129Method of forming a semiconductor,filed July 1963, issued May 1965, assigned to Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp.
  • U.S. patent 3,199,002Solid state circuit with crossing leads,filed April 1961, issued August 1965, assigned to Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp.
  • U.S. patent 3,325,787Trainable system,filed October 1964, issued June 1967, assigned to Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp.

Note: In 1960CleviteCorporation acquiredShockley Semiconductor Laboratory,a subsidiary ofBeckman Instruments,for whom Noyce worked.[54]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^While Kilby's invention was six months earlier, neither man rejected the title of co-inventor.

Citations[edit]

  1. ^Lécuyer, p. 129
  2. ^Jones, 86
  3. ^Jones, 142
  4. ^abcBerlin, p. 10
  5. ^Burt, 71
  6. ^Welles Gaylord, p. 130
  7. ^Jones, p. 625
  8. ^Berlin, p. 14
  9. ^Berlin, p. 9
  10. ^abcWolfe, Tom(December 1983)."The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce".Esquire Magazine:346–74. Archived fromthe originalon February 27, 2009.RetrievedMay 7,2010.
  11. ^abBerlin, p. 12
  12. ^Subramanian, Yvette (November 8, 2004)."Donald Noyce, professor emeritus of chemistry, dies at age 81".UC Berkeley News(Press release). Berkeley, CA.RetrievedMay 8,2009.
  13. ^"Prof. Gaylord Noyce Dies at 83".Yale Divinity School.August 13, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon August 18, 2009.RetrievedOctober 29,2009.
  14. ^Berlin, p. 7
  15. ^ Leslie Berlin (2005).The Man Behind The Microchip: Robert Noyce And The Invention Of Silicon Valley.Oxford University Press. p. 235.ISBN9780195163438.
  16. ^Berlin, Leslie. "Adrenaline and Gasoline."The Man behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley.Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. 22–23. Print.
  17. ^Berlin,p. 27
  18. ^Berlin, p. 22
  19. ^Berlin, p. 24
  20. ^Berlin, p. 106
  21. ^abBerlin, p. 1
  22. ^Shurkin, p. 170
  23. ^Shurkin, p. 181
  24. ^Saxena, Arjun N. (2009).Invention of Integrated Circuits: Untold Important Facts.World Scientific. p. 140.ISBN9789812814456.
  25. ^"1959: Practical Monolithic Integrated Circuit Concept Patented".Computer History Museum.Retrieved13 August2019.
  26. ^ab"Integrated circuits".NASA.Archived fromthe originalon 21 July 2019.Retrieved13 August2019.
  27. ^"1959: Practical Monolithic Integrated Circuit Concept Patented".Computer History Museum.Retrieved13 August2019.
  28. ^Shurkin, p. 184
  29. ^Tedlow, p. 405
  30. ^Creation of Microprocessor (February 19, 2014)."Interview with Gordon Moore on First Microprocessor".YouTube.Archived from the original on May 8, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 2,2017.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ^One-time Intel CEO Andy Grove on the other hand, believed in maximizing the productivity of his employees, and he and the company became known for his guiding motto: "Only the paranoid survive". He was notorious for his directness in finding fault and would question his colleagues so intensely as occasionally to border on intimidation.
  32. ^Garten, Jeffrey E. (April 11, 2005)."Andy Grove Made The Elephant Dance".Bloomberg.RetrievedApril 2,2023.
  33. ^Thomas, Robert Meg. Jr. (September 20, 1996)."Elizabeth B. Noyce, 65, Benefactor of Maine With Vast Settlement From Her Divorce".The New York Times.RetrievedApril 10,2010.
  34. ^Berlin, Leslie (2005).The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley.Oxford University Press.ISBN9780195163438.
  35. ^Berlin, Leslie (2005).The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley.Oxford University Press. pp. 200–204.ISBN0195163435.OCLC57201649.
  36. ^"Class notes 1950-1959".Cornell Alumni Magazine.Sep–Oct 2007.RetrievedJanuary 4,2012.
  37. ^ab"Noyce Foundation: About Us".Archived fromthe originalon December 25, 2011.Retrieved2 January2012.
  38. ^Murty, K. Krishna (2005).Spice In Science.Pustak Mahal. p. 192.ISBN9788122309003.
  39. ^Hays, Constance L. (June 4, 1990)."An Inventor of the Microchip, Robert N. Noyce, Dies at 62".The New York Times.RetrievedApril 10,2010.
  40. ^"The National Medal of Technology and Innovation Recipients – 1987".United States Patent and Trademark Office.RetrievedJanuary 4,2012.
  41. ^"U.S. Business Hall of Fame – Robert N. Noyce".Junior Achievement.Archived fromthe originalon September 4, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 4,2012.
  42. ^"President Bush to honor Noyce and other laureates at U.S. Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony tonight in Colorado Springs".PR Newswire.March 16, 1989.RetrievedJanuary 4,2012.[dead link]
  43. ^"Franklin Laureate Database – Stuart Ballantine Medal 1966 Laureates".Franklin Institute.Archived fromthe originalon December 10, 2012.RetrievedDecember 6,2011.
  44. ^"IEEE Medal of Honor Recipients"(PDF).IEEE.RetrievedDecember 6,2011.
  45. ^"Robert Noyce".IEEE Global History Network.IEEE. Archived fromthe originalon December 20, 2008.RetrievedJuly 18,2011.
  46. ^"Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter N"(PDF).American Academy of Arts and Sciences.RetrievedApril 20,2011.
  47. ^"Recipients of The Charles Stark Draper Prize".National Academy of Engineering.RetrievedDecember 6,2011.
  48. ^Cavna, Michael (December 12, 2011)."Robert Noyce Google Doodle: Logo conducts tribute to Intel co-founder and 'mayor of Silicon Valley'".The Washington Post.RetrievedDecember 12,2011.
  49. ^Kilby, Jack S.(December 8, 2008)."Turning Potential Into Realities: The Invention of the Integrated Circuit".2000 Nobel Lectures.Nobel Foundation:481–482.RetrievedNovember 12,2020.
  50. ^"Featured News: Noyce Foundation to Sunset in 2015".Noyce Foundation.July 22, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon July 23, 2015.RetrievedJuly 22,2015.
  51. ^Levine, Mel (1990-07-11)."H.R.5248 – 101st Congress (1989–1990): Robert Noyce National Math and Science Teachers Corps Act".www.congress.gov.Retrieved2021-07-15.
  52. ^"Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (nsf21578) | NSF – National Science Foundation".www.nsf.gov.Retrieved2021-07-15.
  53. ^"The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program".www.nsfnoyce.org.Retrieved2021-07-15.
  54. ^"Clevite Corp. Acquires Shockley Transistor Corp".Electronic Design.April 27, 1960.RetrievedFebruary 22,2019.

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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