September 12th marks the arrival of one of the greatest inventions of all time, and it happened 65 years ago at Dallas-based Texas Instruments.
TI employee Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit on this day in 1958.
Kilby won The Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000. The Kansas native and University of Illinois graduate shared his life story.
"In 1958, my wife and I moved to Dallas, Texas, where I took a job with Texas Instruments. TI was the only company that agreed to let me work on electronic component miniaturization more or less full time, and it turned out to be a great fit,' he wrote.
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The microchip was originally the size of a nickel but today, chips can be as small as a flake of pepper.
On its website, the National Museum of American History writes, "The microchips of today have been improved by hundreds of innovations, but Kilby’s prototype was an important early step."
This building block of modern electronics transformed the face of technology, affecting nearly every aspect of our lives.
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Kilby's invention has allowed humans to explore space and fly to the moon, allowing engineers to make computers that were once the size of a room fit into the palm of a hand, and even enable the deaf to hear.
Nearly every device today that plugs into a wall or contains a battery likely has a TI chip in it.
Kilby died in 2005 at the age of 81 but every year on this date the company that designs, manufactures, tests, and sells chips celebrates Kilby's invention.
In that biography for The Noble Prize, Kilby wrote, "People often ask me what I’m proud of, and, of course, the integrated circuit is at the top of the list. I’m also proud of my wonderful family. I have two daughters and five granddaughters, so you could say that the Kilbys specialized in girls.
I’ve reached the age where young people frequently ask for my advice. All I can say is that electronics is a fascinating field that I continue to find fulfilling. The field is still growing rapidly, and the opportunities that are ahead are at least as great as they were when I graduated from college. My advice is to get involved and get started."
