David Gilbert Thomas

David Gilbert Thomas (4 August 1928, London, England – 9 May 2015, Torrington, Connecticut) was a chemist and solid-state physicist, known for his work at Bell Labs on the optical properties of semiconductors.

Education and career The 1969 ceremony of the Oliver E. Buckley Prize of condensed matter physics. Luis Walter Alvarez (left) congratulates Thomas (middle) and John Hopfield (right). Thomas was educated at Harrow School and at The Putney School in Vermont, before he matriculated at Oxford University, From 1952 to 1954 he was a researcher for the Royal Military College in Kingston, Canada, and then in 1954 joined Bell Laboratories, where he worked for 38 years. In 1960 he became a U.S. citizen.

After becoming Head of the Semiconductor Electronics Research Department in 1962, Mr. Thomas conducted studies leading to the development of gallium phosphide light-emitting diodes, which were used extensively as indicator lights of maintenance equipment, control panels, and some new multiline telephones and business telephone consoles. A practical application at the time was the "Princess" phone which lit up with a green glow when lifted from its handset. In 1969, Mr. Thomas moved from research into development and became the Executive Director of the Electronic Devices, Process and Materials Division responsible for the development of electronic devices, including their materials and fabrication. the Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize of the American Physical Society.

Family Thomas's wife, June, whom he married in 1957, died in January 2015. He was survived by his daughters Virginia S. Thomas and Victoria C. Thomas, as well as, granddaughters Eliza K. Lupone and Madeline J. Lupone.