Jack S. Kilby, inventor of the integrated circuit which practically sky-rocketed to the information age in the last 50 years, died in Dallas at the begining of this week, age 81.
The tragic loss was announced yesterday by Texas Instruments, the Dallas-based electronics company where Kilby worked for over 25 years.
The microchip Kilby invented shortly
after embarking with Texas Instruments in 1958 was the basis for modern microelectronics. He was the one to conceive a thin chip of crystal which connected components that used to work separately, like transistors, resistors and capacitors within a single device. This invention earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000.
However this great honor of being one of the greatest inventors of the 20th century didn't exactly swoop Kilby off his feet and asked what he did after learning of the award, he said simply, "I made coffee", states the NY Times.
And this wasn't his only prize won for great achievements in technology; other awards include the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology, the highest technical awards given by the United States government. Kilby also invented the first handheld electronic calculator in 1967, and the thermal printer.
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