William Shockley
- Biography
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Early Life
William Shockley was born on February 13, 1910 in London, England. He was the son of William Hillman Shockley, a mining engineer, and his wife, May Bradford Shockley. He was raised in Palo Alto, California, where his father worked as a professor at Stanford University. Shockley attended Palo Alto High School and graduated in 1927. He then went on to attend the California Institute of Technology, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physics in 1932.
Career
After graduating from Caltech, Shockley worked as a research physicist at Bell Labs in New Jersey. During his time there, he worked on the development of the transistor, a revolutionary electronic device that would revolutionize the electronics industry. Shockley was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 for his work on the transistor.
In 1956, Shockley left Bell Labs to form his own company, Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory. The company was the first commercial semiconductor company in the United States and was located in Mountain View, California. Shockley's team at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory developed the first practical silicon-based transistor.
Later Years
In 1957, Shockley left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory and joined the faculty at Stanford University as a professor of engineering science and applied physics. He remained at Stanford until his retirement in 1975. During his time at Stanford, Shockley continued to work on semiconductor research and development.
In the late 1960s, Shockley became increasingly interested in the field of eugenics, which is the study of improving the genetic quality of the human population. Shockley's views on eugenics were controversial and he was widely criticized for his views.
Death
William Shockley died on August 12, 1989 in Palo Alto, California. He was 79 years old. Shockley's legacy lives on in the form of the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, which is now known as Intel Corporation. He is remembered as one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century and his work on the transistor revolutionized the electronics industry.
Date modified: Apr 5, 2023We seek for an accuracy and correctness in our content. In case you spot any mistake, please contact us
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