About Simon Sze
Lived 1936 – 2023 (aged 87). Simon Sze was a Taiwanese engineer.
Simon Min Sze, or Shi Min (; 21 March 1936 – 6 November 2023), was a Taiwanese-American electrical engineer. He is best known for inventing the floating-gate MOSFET with Korean electrical engineer Dawon Kahng in 1967.
Early life and education Simon Min Sze was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu, and grew up in Taiwan. After graduating from National Taiwan University in 1957, he received a master's degree from the University of Washington in 1960 and a doctorate from Stanford University in 1963.
Career and research Sze worked for Bell Labs until 1990, after which he returned to Taiwan and joined the faculty of National Chiao Tung University. He is well known for his work in semiconductor physics and technology, including his 1967 invention (with Dawon Kahng) of the floating-gate transistor, now widely used in non-volatile semiconductor memory devices. He wrote and edited many books, including Physics of Semiconductor Devices, one of the most-cited texts in its field.
Death Simon Sze died on 6 November 2023, at the age of 87.
Recognition 1977: IEEE Fellow 1991: J. J. Ebers Award 1994: Academician of Academia Sinica, Taiwan 1995: Member of National Academy of Engineering, United States 1998: Foreign Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering, China 2010: Tenured Chair Professor, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan 2014: Honorary Chair Professor, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan 2017: IEEE Celebrated Member 2021: The Future Science Prize, China 2022: Asian Scientist 100, Asian Scientist
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Important facts
People in Simon Sze's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Simon Sze's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Simon Sze?
American electrical engineer (1936–2023)
When was Simon Sze born?
Simon Sze was born on 21 March 1936 in Nanjing.
When did Simon Sze die?
Simon Sze died on 7 November 2023.
What was Simon Sze's occupation?
Simon Sze was an engineer.
What nationality was Simon Sze?
Simon Sze was Taiwanese.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Simon Sze. https://biography.guide/simon-sze/
MLA: "Simon Sze." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/simon-sze/.
Chicago: "Simon Sze." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/simon-sze/.
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