Who is Robert Noyce?
Robert Noyce (complete name Robert Norton Noyce : December 12, 1927 – June 3, 1990), nicknamed "the Mayor of Silicon Valley", co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel in 1968. He is also credited (along with Jack Kilby) with the invention of the integrated circuit or microchip which fueled the personal computer revolution and gave Silicon Valley its name. Noyce was also a mentor and father-figure to an entire generation of entrepreneurs.
As a form of thanks, then on the anniversary of Robert Noyce today, Google tweaked the logo to feature a microchip with the Google brand. :)
He was born and raised in Iowa. At the age of 12, he created his first boy-sized aircraft, and assembled a radio from scratch. He graduated from Grinnell High School in 1945 and entered Grinnell College in the fall of that year. He graduated there with a BA in physics and mathematics and in 1953, he earned his Ph.D. in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After his graduation, his first job was a research engineer at the Philco Corporation in Pennsylvania and left the company in 1956 and moved to Mountain View, California to work at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory. After one year with William Shockley, he co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor corporation.
After 10 years with Fairchild, he and Gordon Moore founded Intel in 1968.
Now let’s talk Mr. Noyce’s his love life. According to his Wiki entry, he married Elizabeth Bottomley in 1953 but they divorced in 1974. Noyce and Bottomley had four children.
After his divorce, Noyce married Ann Schmeltz Bowers, the first Director of Personnel for Intel Corporation and the first Vice President of Human Resources for Apple Inc.
Noyce died from a heart attack at home on June 3, 1990 in Texas.
To honor the memory and Dr. Robert N. Noyce, his family founded Noyce Foundation in 1990 “to support the informal science community to develop work that addresses the gaps that exist in outcomes measurement, research and evaluation, program scale up, leadership development, policy issues, and pathways or pipeline design.”
Biography of Robert Noyce:
Born December 12, 1927 (1927-12-12)
Burlington, Iowa
Died June 3, 1990 (1990-06-03) (aged 62)
Austin, Texas
Alma mater Grinnell College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Occupation Co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel
Spouse Elizabeth Bottomley
Ann Bowers
Children William B. Noyce
Pendred Noyce
Priscilla Noyce
Margaret Noyce
Parents Ralph Brewster Noyce
Harriet May Norton