Jack Kilby
Jack Kilby was an American electronic engineer, physicist, and inventor, born on November 8, 1923, in Jefferson City.
Kilby attended Great Bend High School before pursuing his education at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He also worked as a university teacher during his career. His professional path led him to Texas Instruments, where in 1958 he took part in the realization of the first integrated circuit alongside Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor. This development, which stands as Kilby's most notable work, placed him at the center of one of the defining technical achievements in the history of electronics.
In recognition of his contributions, Kilby received a number of significant honors over the course of his life. These included the IEEE Medal of Honor, the Holley Medal, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology. The most prominent of these distinctions was the Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded in acknowledgment of his role in the integrated circuit's realization. Kilby died on June 20, 2005, in Dallas. His career as an engineer, inventor, and educator remained anchored throughout by his work on the integrated circuit, a recurring subject across his professional identity and the honors he accumulated.
Quotes by Jack Kilby
I’m sure there will continue to be exciting new products and major changes, but it looks as if the existing technology has a great deal of room to grow and prosper.
I’m doing a little consulting. I’m somewhat retired, still a director of a company or two.
The groups that have awarded them are all a little different. It's a little hard to single out any one for that, but I think the dedication of this building would have to go toward the top of the list.
I'm sure there will continue to be exciting new products and major changes, but it looks as if the existing technology has a great deal of room to grow and prosper.
I think the varied backgrounds in the beginning were a plus. It took a while for people to understand what they were trying to do and get started, but it did provide for a lot of new ideas.
I'm doing a little consulting. I'm somewhat retired, still a director of a company or two.
The first calculators tended to sell for $400 or $500. Today, you can get a pretty good one for 4 or $5.
How are we doing in the electronics field as opposed to, you know, we hear how advanced the Japanese are? Do you think we're still pretty competitive? Oh, yes.
They were the largest semiconductor maker in the world up until about 1980. I'm not sure that that can be re-gained again, but their progress in the last few years has been very impressive.
It's also somewhat in the center of a number of things that will be useful to the company.