Jack Kilby, Inventor of the Integrated Circuit, Dies at 81

Yahoo ^ | 6/21/05

[G32]

Sad sad news. 3 years ago I worked down the hall from him. I saw him off when he was leaving for the Nobel Prize.

[Frank_Discussion]

Gentle Giant. I met him VERY briefly some years ago at a facility just north of Houston, HARC. Seemed like a nice fella.

[G32]

Yep, he was very tall. Towered over me for sure.

[Redleg Duke]

One of the great issues of the University of Wisconsin.

[steveo]

I'm looking at a souvenir acrylic cube. Encased within is one of the original "Solid Circuit" chips floating above the equivalent component circuit board. Marked 'Texas Instruments Semiconductor Network Commercial Introduction March 21 1960. And back on the shelf it goes.

[MeekOneGOP]

Pinging my General Interest and Texas list here.

Jack Kilby, Inventor of the Integrated Circuit, Dies at 81

Excerpt:

DALLAS, June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack St. Clair Kilby, retired TI engineer and inventor of the integrated circuit, died yesterday in Dallas following a brief battle with cancer. He was 81.

Mr. Kilby invented the first monolithic integrated circuit, which laid the foundation for the field of modern microelectronics, moving the industry into a world of miniaturization and integration that continues today. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for his role in the invention of the integrated circuit.

"In my opinion, there are only a handful of people whose works have truly transformed the world and the way we live in it -- Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers and Jack Kilby," said TI Chairman Tom Engibous. "If there was ever a seminal invention that transformed not only our industry but our world, it was Jack's invention of the first integrated circuit."

A man of few words, Mr. Kilby is remembered fondly by friends and associates for being in every sense of the word a gentleman and a gentle man. At 6 foot 6 inches in height, he was occasionally called the "gentle giant" in the press.

"Ever practical and low-key, with good humor and quiet grace, Jack was a man with every right to be boastful, yet never was," said Mr. Engibous. Mr. Kilby was always quick to credit the thousands of engineers who followed him for their impact on growing the industry and changing the world. "For those of us who were fortunate enough to have known him, it's that dual legacy for which I personally will always feel privileged to have known Jack -- not only the quality of what he did, but the quality of who he was," said Mr. Engibous.

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[PaulaB]

Thanks Meek

He changed the world and now I pray God welcomed him home and told him "Great Job My Friend"

[MeekOneGOP]

Amen.

He sounds like he was one heck of a nice guy, too.

This story came in my email from The Dallas Morning News
just a little bit ago is how I found out.

[Fiddlstix]

R.I.P
Bump

[SlowBoat407]

My father was on several committees with him when he (my father) worked at NASA between 1961 and 1980. He remembers the man fondly and was sad when I told him the news.

"Jack never went anywhere without a smoke. In fact, he didn't go to a meeting if they didn't allow smoking... I was a little pipsqueak just coming up, but he treated me as if I knew just as much as he did. He never had an unkind word about anyone. Just a real nice guy, and brilliant."

[martin_fierro]

Ah.

NOW I know who to blame for this:

Rest in Peace.

[stevio]

Because of people like him, I have a good job and I'm able to have my wife at home raising our children. RIP.

[MeekOneGOP]

hehe! :)

[newzjunkey]

R.I.P.

He's technically credited as separately but simultaneously inventing the IC along with the late Robert Noyce.

[skinkinthegrass]

Technical Ping BUMP :/

[liberty2004]

A good guy. RIP.

[RC51]

Cool movie about the IC

[Texagirl4W]

Hi, Meek. Thanks for this post. His death comes at a time when TI is celebrating their 75th anniversary. Mr. Kilby has gotten lots of favorable press lately with all the TI announcements of their progress in 75 years. I've been working at TI for 34 years and have learned more about the company in the last few months than I knew before.

Mr. Kilby has marked his place in history. I met him once. The presence he brought to a room was outstanding.

I'm on vacation in San Antonio so I hadn't seen this before.

[DaveTesla]

Thank you ever so much Jack Kilby.
You transformed the world.
I owe my livelihood in part to your endeavors.
May you Rest In Peace.