Jack Kilby

Jack St. Clair Kilby (November 8, 1923 – June 20, 2005) was an American electrical 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. For this invention, Kilby shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics.

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.

Early life and education Jack St. Clair Kilby was born on November 8, 1923, in Jefferson City, Missouri. He was raised in Great Bend, Kansas, where his father ran a small electric company that served customers in rural western Kansas. While in high school, a huge ice storm knocked down most of the poles that carried the telephone and electric power lines. His father's company had to use amateur radio operators for communication in the areas where customers had lost their power and phone service. This event sparked his interest in electronics.

After serving in the U.S. Army as an electronics technician during World War II, Kilby began studying electrical engineering at the University of Illinois, graduating with a B.S. in 1947. He then joined the Centralab Division of Globe Union, Inc., an electronics manufacturer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While working in Milwaukee, Kilby continued his education at the Milwaukee State Teachers College (now the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee), where he obtained an M.S. in 1950. U.S. Patent 3,138,743 for "Miniaturized electronic circuits," the first integrated circuit, was filed on February 6, 1959. It was notable for having different components (transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.) on one single substrate. 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 ).

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.

Death and legacy Kilby died of cancer on June 20, 2005, in Dallas, Texas, at the age of 81.

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 1966 Franklin Institute Stuart Ballantine Medal "For the development of monolithic integrated circuits (microchips)." 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." 1978 IEEE IEEE Cledo Brunetti Award "For contributions to miniaturization through inventions and the development of integrated circuits." 1982 ASME Holley Medal — 1986 IEEE IEEE Medal of Honor "For fundamental contributions to semiconductor integrated circuit technology." 1989 ASME Holley Medal — 1990 ASME Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award — 1993 IEEE Computer Society Computer Pioneer Award "For co-inventing the integrated circuit." 1993 Inamori Foundation Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology "Creation of the Concept of the Monolithic Semiconductor Integrated Circuit and Its Demonstration." 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." 2000 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Nobel Prize in Physics "For his part in the invention of the integrated circuit."

Memberships Year Organization Type 1967 National Academy of Engineering Member 2001 American Philosophical Society Member

National awards Year Head of state Award Citation 1969 Richard Nixon National Medal of Science "For original conceptions and valuable contributions in the production and application of integrated circuits." 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."

Honorary degrees Year University Degree 1988 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — 1990 University of Wisconsin–Madison Doctor of Science 1995 Southern Methodist University Doctor of Science 1996 Yale University Doctor of Science

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.

A statue of Jack Kilby stands in Texas Instruments Plaza on the campus of The University of Texas at Dallas.

Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kansas, holds an annual Jack Kilby STEM Day.