He was 82. Mr. Bardeen, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and physics at the University of Illinois, died at Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he underwent exploratory surgery Tuesday that revealed he had lung cancer. Mr. Bardeen's wife, Jane, was with him.
Transistors amplify or switch electrical signals.
Their importance has grown as their size decreased. Today they are the core element of everything from missiles to televisions, telephones to computers. The scientist credited Japanese mastery of his invention for much of their worldwide business success. After joining the Illinois faculty in 1951, Mr. Bardeen's research continued to pierce the realm of the unknown, working on the theory of superconductivity. Superconductivity, still being developed, would allow electricity to travel continuously through materials without losing energy from resistance or heat.