William Shockley

principal papers

hardware

software

keywords
transistor, quantum physics

see also

related subjects

Co invented the transistor with John Bardeen and Walter Brattain in 1947

Dr. John Bardeen, Dr. Walter Brattain, and Dr. William Shockley discovered the
transistor effect and developed the first device in December, 1947, while the three were
members of the technical staff at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ. They were awarded
the Nobel Prize in physics in 1956.

Biography

William Shockley was born in London to American parents who were in England for several years on business. His father was a mining engineer and his mother a federal deputy surveyor of mineral lands. They returned to California when William was a toddler. His interest in science was encouraged from early on, through his parents' professions and by a neighbor who taught physics at Stanford. He graduated from Cal Tech in 1932 and then received his PhD from MIT in 1936.

He began work immediately at Bell Labs. His research in solid state physics, especially vacuum tubes, made many theoretical advances in the company's goal to use electronic switches for telephone exchanges instead of the mechanical switches used up until then. During World War II, Shockley worked on military projects, particularly refining radar systems. As soon as the war ended, he was back doing solid-state research, now investigating semiconductors.

One of his major contributions to the electronics industry was to apply quantum theory to the development of semiconductors. In 1947, with colleagues John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, he made the first successful amplifying semiconductor device. They called it a transistor (from transfer and resistor). Shockley made improvements to it in 1950 which made it easier to manufacture. His original idea eventually led to the development of the silicon chip. Shockley, Bardeen, and Brattain won the 1956 Nobel Prize for the development of the transistor. It allowed electonic devices to be built smaller and lighter and even cheaper.

He left Bell Labs in 1955 and served as visiting professor and consulant at various universities and corporations. He started his own lab to develop transistors and other devices. The business changed hands a few times and finally folded in 1968. In 1963, Shockley was appointed professor of engineering at Stanford University where he taught until 1975. Teaching made him think a great deal himself about the thought process and how scientific thinking might be improved. His general ideas got more specific with time, becoming very similar to the theories of the eugenics movement of the 1910s and 1920s. He argued that the future of the population was threatened because people with low IQs had more children than those with high IQs. His views became increasingly controversial and race-based. While people continued to respect his achievements in physics and engineering, many public figures and scientists pointed out that "his contributions to physics did not lend scientific credence to his judgments on genetics."

Shockley was married twice, and had two sons and one daughter. Mountain climbing was his chief hobby, which he did not pursue so much for relaxation, family members noted, as for a problem to be solved.

"The half-baked ideas of people are better than the ideas of half-baked people."

Chronology

1910, 13 February born

1932 graduated from Cal Tech

1936 eceived his PhD from MIT

1940-45 worked on military projects, particularly refining radar systems

1947, December Dr. John Bardeen, Dr. Walter Brattain, and Dr. William Shockley discovered the
transistor effect and developed the first device

1955 Left Bell labs and started a career as visiting professor in various universities

1956 Nobel Prize in physics with Dr. Walter Brattain, and Dr. William Shockley for the invention of the transitor

1963 - 1975 Professor of engineering at Stanford University

1989 Died in London, England

Honors and awards

1956 Received the Nobel prize for his co-invention of the transistor

Bibliography