Nobel Laureates - College of Science and Engineering College of Science and Engineering Nobel Laureates Faculty member 1938-45 Nobel Prize in physics, 1956 and 1972 Bardeen shared the 1956 prize with William B. Shockley and Walter H. Brattain (Physics Ph.D. ’29) for their joint invention of the transistor. Together with Leon N. Cooper and John R. Schrieffer, he won the 1972 prize for the development of the theory of superconductivity. Arthur H. Compton Faculty member 1916-17 Nobel Prize in physics, 1927 Compton won the Nobel Prize (along with C.T.R. Wilson of England) for his discovery and explanation of the so-called “Compton effect,” the change in the wavelength of X-rays when they collide with electrons in metals. William N. Lipscomb Faculty member 1946-59 Nobel Prize in chemistry, 1976 Lipscomb won the Nobel Prize for his research on the structure and bonding of boron compounds and the general nature of chemical bonding. John H.

Van Vleck Faculty member 1924-28 Nobel Prize in physics, 1977 Van Vleck shared 1977 Nobel Prize in physics with Philip W. Anderson and Sir Nevill F. Mott. The prize honored Van Vleck’s contributions to the understanding of the behavior of electrons in magnetic, noncrystalline solid materials. Alumni laureates (Physics Ph.D. ’29) Nobel Prize in physics, 1956 Brattain, John Bardeen, and William B. Shockley won the Nobel Prize for the development of the transistor. Melvin Calvin Nobel Prize in chemistry, 1961 Calvin received the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the chemical pathways of photosynthesis. Ernest O. Lawrence (Physics M.A. ’23) Nobel Prize in physics, 1939 Lawrence was honored with the Nobel Prize for his invention of the cyclotron, the first particle accelerator to achieve high energies. Daniel McFadden (Physics ’57, Behavioral Sciences Ph.D.’62) Nobel Prize in economic sciences, 2000 McFadden was honored for his development of theory and methods for analyzing discrete choice.

The Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to 204 Nobel Laureates since 1901 "The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- - -/ one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics ..." (Excerpt from the will of Alfred Nobel) Physics was the prize area which Alfred Nobel mentioned first in his will. At the end of the nineteenth century, many people considered physics as the foremost of the sciences, and perhaps Nobel saw it this way as well. His own research was also closely tied to physics. The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences , Stockholm, Sweden. Most Popular Physics Laureates Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen The Nobel Prize in Physics 1901-2000 The Nobel Prizes were created just in time to enable the awards to cover many of the outstanding contributions that opened new areas of physics in this period. Nobel Prizes in Physics have been awarded between 1901-2016. 47 Physics Prizes have been given to one Laureate only.

2 women have been awarded the Physics Prize so far. 1 person, John Bardeen , has been awarded the Physics Prize twice. 25 years was the age of the youngest Physics Laureate ever, Lawrence Bragg , when he was awarded the 1915 Physics Prize together with his father. 55 "The chairman of the committee couldn't find me ..." 1989 Physics Laureate Norman F. Ramsey talks about the unexpected call from Stockholm. Ill: © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Chameleons of Space Read more about the prize "A fundamental discovery in physics" The discovery that neutrinos are not massless makes a difference, says Professor Olga Botner, Member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, when interviewed about the importance of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics. Watch the interview "I feel that I have been extremely lucky" In his Nobel Lecture, Takaaki Kajita recalls the exciting time and work leading up to Super-Kamiokande discovering neutrino oscillations, establishing that neutrinos have mass. Watch or read the lecture "I'm still fascinated by the fact that you can do calculations that actually show how the universe works" In this interview, Arthur B.

McDonald talks about what brought him to science, his Nobel Prize-awarded work, Eureka moments and remaining questions in his field. 2014 Physics Prize Filling the World with New Light "When I was a child, I could not understand why I should study" In this interview, Hiroshi Amano explains what brought him to science. "I had no confidence in inventing the blue LED, I just wanted my PhD" In his Nobel Lecture, Shuji Nakamura gave the background story of his invention. Watch the lecture A Work of Art in Miniature The prize awarders decide the design of the Nobel Diplomas. Each diploma is a unique work of art. Transistors - Fundamental in Electronic Devices Play and Learn! A transistor is made of a solid piece of a semiconductor material and either used as switches, to turn electronic signals on or off – or, as amplifiers. Play the Transistor Recycler Game or try and build a transistor replica! The Transistor Transistors are devices that control the movement of electrons, and consequently, electricity. They are the major component in all digital circuits, including computer microprocessors which contain millions of microscopic transistors.

The Transistor in a Century of Electronics Inventors William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of the transistor in 1947. John Bardeen is the only person awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice. The Transistor - History The Transistor in a Century of Electronics A Three Terminal Device Vacuum tubes were made containing several three terminal devices called triodes. The transistor is a three terminal, solid state electronic device. In a three terminal device we can control electric current or voltage between two of the terminals by applying an electric current or voltage to the third terminal. This three terminal character of the transistor is what allows us to make an amplifier for electrical signals, like the one in our radio. With the three-terminal transistor we can also make an electric switch, which can be controlled by another electrical switch. By cascading these switches (switches that control switches that control switches, etc.) we can build up very complicated logic circuits. These logic circuits can be built very compact on a silicon chip with 1,000,000 transistors per square centimeter.

We can turn them on and off very rapidly by switching every 0.000000001 seconds. Such logic chips are at the heart of your personal computer and many other gadgets you use today. Light Bulbs and Vacuum Tubes The transistor was not the first three terminal device. The vacuum tube triode preceded the transistor by nearly 50 years. Vacuum tubes played an important role in the emergence of home electronics and in the scientific discoveries and technical innovations which are the foundation for our modern electronic technology. Thomas Edison's light bulb was one of the first uses of vacuum tubes for electrical applications. Soon after the discovery of the light bulb, a third electrode was placed in the vacuum tube to investigate the effect that this electrode would have on "cathode rays," which were observed around the filament of the light bulb. Joseph John Thomson developed a vacuum tube to carefully investigate the nature of cathode rays, which resulted in his discovery, published in 1897. He showed that the cathode rays were really made up of particles, or "corpuscles" as Thomson called them, that were contained in all material. Thomson had discovered the electron, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics 1906 .

Lee De Forest and The Radio Radio brought information rapidly to the masses and was the first widely used electronic device in the home. At the same time as physicists were trying to understand what cathode rays were, engineers were trying to apply them to make electronic devices. In 1906, an American inventor and physicists, Lee De Forest, made the vacuum tube triode, or audion as he called it. The triode was a three terminal device that allowed him to make an amplifier for audio signals, making AM radio possible. Radio revolutionized the way in which information and entertainment reached the great majority of people. The vacuum tube triode also helped push the development of computers forward a great deal. Electronic tubes were used in several different computer designs in the late 1940's and early 1950's. But the limits of these tubes were soon reached. As the electric circuits became more complicated, one needed more and more triodes. Engineers packed several triodes into one vacuum tube (that is why the tube has so many legs) to make the tube circuits more efficient. Early Computers The largest computers based on vacuum tubes had racks and racks of tubes filling large rooms.

The vacuum tubes tended to leak, and the metal that emitted electrons in the vacuum tubes burned out. The tubes also required so much power that big and complicated circuits were too large and took too much energy to run. In the late 1940's, big computers were built with over 10,000 vacuum tubes and occupied over 93 square meters of space. The problems with vacuum tubes lead scientists and engineers to think of other ways to make three terminal devices. Instead of using electrons in vacuum, scientists began to consider how one might control electrons in solid materials, like metals and semiconductors. Already in the 1920's, scientists understood how to make a two terminal device by making a point contact between a sharp metal tip and a piece of semiconductor crystal. These point-contact diodes were used to rectify signals (change oscillating signals to steady signals), and make simple AM radio receivers (crystal radios). However, it took many years before the three terminal solid state device - the transistor - was discovered. The First Transistor The first point contact transistor made use of the semiconductor germanium. Paper clips and razor blades were used to make the device.

In 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, working at Bell Telephone Laboratories, were trying to understand the nature of the electrons at the interface between a metal and a semiconductor. They realized that by making two point contacts very close to one another, they could make a three terminal device - the first "point contact" transistor. They quickly made a few of these transistors and connected them with some other components to make an audio amplifier. This audio amplifier was shown to chief executives at Bell Telephone Company, who were very impressed that it didn't need time to "warm up" (like the heaters in vacuum tube circuits). They immediately realized the power of this new technology. This invention was the spark that ignited a huge research effort in solid state electronics. Bardeen and Brattain received the Nobel Prize in Physics, 1956, together with William Shockley, "for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect." Shockley had developed a so-called junction transistor, which was built on thin slices of different types of semiconductor material pressed together. The junction transistor was easier to understand theoretically, and could be manufactured more reliably.

Limits of Individual Transistors Individual electronic components were soldered on to printed circuit boards. For many years, transistors were made as individual electronic components and were connected to other electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, etc.) on boards to make an electronic circuit. They were much smaller than vacuum tubes and consumed much less power. Electronic circuits could be made more complex, with more transistors switching faster than tubes. However, it did not take long before the limits of this circuit construction technique were reached. Circuits based on individual transistors became too large and too difficult to assemble. There were simply too many electronic components to deal with. The transistor circuits were faster than vacuum tube circuits, and there were noticeable problems due to time delays for electric signals to propagate a long distance in these large circuits. To make the circuits even faster, one needed to pack the transistors closer and closer together. The Integrated Circuit Integrated circuits placed all components in one chip, drastically reducing the size of the circuit and its components.

In 1958 and 1959, Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at Fairchild Camera, came up with a solution to the problem of large numbers of components, and the integrated circuit was developed. Instead of making transistors one-by-one, several transistors could be made at the same time, on the same piece of semiconductor. Not only transistors, but other electric components such as resistors, capacitors and diodes could be made by the same process with the same materials. For more than 30 years, since the 1960's, the number of transistors per unit area has been doubling every 1.5 years. This fantastic progression of circuit fabrication is known as Moore's law, after Gordon Moore, one of the early integrated circuit pioneers and founders of Intel Corporation. The Nobel Prize in Physics 2000 was awarded to Jack Kilby for the invention of the integrated circuit. From the dawn of the vacuum tube triode, to the discovery of the transistor and the development of the integrated circuit, the 20th century has certainly been the century of electronics.

By Professor David B Haviland First published 19 December 2002 John Bardeen, William B. Shockley, and Walter H. Brattain and the Invention of the Transistor John Bardeen, William Shockley, Walter Brattain Invention of the Transistor - Bell Laboratories More By Alaina G. Levine On December 14, 2006, the American Physical Society presented a plaque to Bell Laboratories in honor of John Bardeen (1908-1991), William B. Shockley (1910-1989), and Walter H.

Brattain (1902-1987) for their invention of the transistor, which has been called “the most important invention of the 20th Century.”1 Developed from semiconductor material, the transistor was the first device that could both amplify an electrical signal, as well as turn it on and off, allowing current to flow or to be blocked.2 It was small in size, generated very low heat, and was very dependable, making possible a breakthrough in the miniaturization of complex circuitry.3 The transistor heralded in the “Information Age” and paved the way for the development of almost every electronic device, from radios to computers to space shuttles. For their monumental “researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect,"4 Bardeen, Shockley and Brattain were presented with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956. The genesis of the transistor emanates, interestingly enough, from a marketing problem. In the early part of the 20th Century, AT&T was engrossed in expanding its telephone service across the continent in an effort to beat the competition.

The company turned to its research and development arm, Bell Laboratories, to develop innovations to meet this need. At the time, telephone technology was based on vacuum tubes, which were essentially modified light bulbs that controlled electron flow, allowing for current to be amplified. But vacuum tubes were not very reliable, and they consumed too much power and produced too much heat to be practical for AT&T’s needs. Furthermore, as scientists at Bell Labs discovered, transcontinental telephone communication required the use of ultrahigh frequency waves and the vacuum tubes were incapable of picking up rapid vibrations.5 An all-star team of scientists was assembled at Bell Labs to develop a replacement for the vacuum tubes based on solid-state semiconductor materials.6 Shockley, who had received his Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1936 and joined Bell Labs the same year, was selected as the team leader. He recruited several scientists for the project, including Brattain and Bardeen. Walter Brattain had been working for Bell Labs since 1929, the year he received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Minnesota. His main research interest was on the surface properties of solids.7 John Bardeen was a theoretical physicist with an industrial engineering background.

With a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University, he was working as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota when Shockley invited him to join the group.8 The team commenced work on a new means of current amplification. In 1945, Shockley designed what he hoped would be the first semiconductor amplifier, an apparatus that consisted of “a small cylinder coated thinly with silicon, mounted close to a small, metal plate”. The device didn't work, and Shockley assigned Bardeen and Brattain to find out why.9 In 1947, during the so-called “Miracle Month” of November 17 to December 23, Brattain and Bardeen performed experiments to determine what was preventing Shockley’s device from amplifying. They noticed that condensation kept forming on the silicon. Could this be the deterrent? Brattain submerged the experiment in water “inadvertently creating the largest amplification thus far.” Bardeen was emboldened by this result, and suggested they modify the experiment to include a [gold] metal point that would be pushed into the silicon surrounded by distilled water. At last there was amplification, but disappointingly, at a trivial level.

But the scientists were galvanized by the meager result, and over the next few weeks, experimented with various materials and set ups. They replaced the silicon with germanium, which resulted in amplification 330 times larger than before. But it only functioned for low frequency currents, whereas phone lines, for example, would need to handle the many complicated frequencies of the human voice10. Next, they replaced the liquid with a layer of germanium dioxide. When some of the oxide layer accidentally washed away, Brattain continued the experiment shoving the gold point into the germanium and voila! Not only could he still achieve current amplification, but he could do so at all frequencies. The gold contact had put holes in the germanium and the punctures "canceled out the effect of the electrons at the surface, the same way the water had."11 Their invention was finally increasing the current at all frequencies. Bardeen and Brattain had achieved two special results: the ability to get a large amplification at some frequencies, and a small amplification for all frequencies. Their goal now was to combine the two.

The essential components of the device thus far were the germanium and two gold point contacts that were fractions of a millimeter apart. With this in mind, Brattain placed a gold ribbon around a plastic triangle, and cut it through one of the points. When the point of the triangle touched the germanium, electric current entered through one gold contact and increased as it rushed out the other. They had done it – it was the first point-contact transistor. On December 23, Shockley, Bardeen and Brattain presented their “little plastic triangle” to the Bell Labs VIPs and it became official: the super star team had invented the first working solid state amplifier12. Following the triumph of the transistor, the three amplifying architects went their separate ways. Shockley left Bell Labs in 1955 to become the Director of the Shockley Semi-Conductor Laboratory of Beckman Instruments, Inc. in Mountain View, Ca. His company was one of the first of its kind in Northern California and quickly attracted more semiconductor labs and related computer firms to the area. Soon the region had a new moniker: Silicon Valley.

Bardeen left Bell Labs in 1951 for a professorial appointment in electrical engineering and physics at the University of Illinois. He was named a member of the Center for Advanced Study of the University in 1959. He continued his research in solid state physics and in 1972 shared a second Nobel Prize in physics for the first successful explanation of superconductivity. Brattain remained at Bell Labs and received various honorary degrees and awards for his work, including being named a Fellow of the APS, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Copyright © 2008, Alaina G. Levine 1 According to Ira Flatow, Host of Transitorized! , a PBS special John Bardeen | Biography History | Electronics Notes Events John Bardeen Biography John Bardeen was an American physicist and inventor - he was one of the research group that invented the point contact transistor. John Bardeen was an American physicist and electrical engineer, one of the trio who invented the point contact transistor. He also holds the distinction that he is and the only person to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice.

The first time was in 1956 with Walter Brattain and William Shockley for the invention of the transistor, and the second time was in 1972 with Leon N Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer for a fundamental theory of conventional superconductivity. John Bardeen early life & education John Bardeen was the only one of the main trio of the transistor inventors who was born in the USA. William Shockley was born in England and Walter Brattain in China - both to America parents. John Bardeen was born in Wisconsin in May 1908. He was the son of Charles Russell Bardeen, who was the first dean of the University of Wisconsin Medical School. In 1928 Bardeen gained a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and then received his Master's degree in 1929, again from Wisconsin. After graduating from Wisconsin Bardeen went to work for Gulf Research Laboratories, part of the Gulf Oil Corporation in Pittsburgh, but working as a geophysicist here did not captivate his interest as he would like. As a result he went to study mathematics and physics for his Ph.D. at Princeton, receiving his Ph.D.

in 1936. Bardeen at Bell Labs John Bardeen began his work at Bell Labs, joining the Solid State Physics Group under William Shockley and chemist Stanley Morgan. The aim of the group Bardeen had joined was to find a semiconductor based replacement for the vacuum tubes that were fragile, large and had reliability problems. The group initially tried to use an external electric field to control the conductivity of a semiconductor but each time the experiments failed and ultimately the group came to a halt, not knowing which way to turn. It was Bardeen who suggested a theory that invoked surface states that prevented the field from penetrating the semiconductor. This broke the 'log-jam' and work swiftly moved forwards, leading ultimately to them looking at point contacts on a semiconductor. They surrounded the point contacts between the semiconductor and the conducting wires with electrolytes, finally gaining evidence of amplification. On 23rd December 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain who were working without Shockley, succeeded in creating a point-contact transistor that achieved amplification. It appeared that Shockley tried to take much of the credit although Bell Labs consistently presented all there as the inventors.

However Shockley's actions severely damaged the relationship between him and both John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. Bardeen seeks new pastures By the early 1950s, John Bardeen wanted to seek another job. He was offered a position at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1951 where he became Professor of Electrical Engineering and of Physics. While he was at Illinois, Bardeen set up major research programmes in both of the departments with which he was associated. In the Electrical Engineering Department the programme investigated experimental and theoretical aspects of semiconductors. The programme for the Physics Department investigated theoretical aspects of macroscopic quantum systems, particularly superconductivity and quantum liquids. It was the work on superconductivity for which John Bardeen received his second Nobel Prize. Bardeen remained at Illinois from 1951 to 1975, ultimately becoming Professor Emeritus. Bardeen's Nobel prizes In 1956 he received a Nobel Prize along with Shockley and Brattain for his work on the transistor, but by this time he was involved in research into superconductors.

It was in this area that he felt he made his greatest achievements, and in 1972 he was awarded a second Nobel prize for this work. In addition to his Nobel Prizes he received a number of other awards, including a gold medal from the Soviet Academy for Science. Bardeen died at the age of 82 at the beginning of February 1991. More Famous Scientists in Electronics and Radio: John Bardeen - Educator, Physicist, Scientist, Inventor - Biography.com John Bardeen John Bardeen was co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956 for inventing the transistor and in 1972 for the theory of superconductivity. IN THESE GROUPS Famous University of Wisconsin at Madison Alumni Synopsis John Bardeen shared the 1956 Nobel Prize for Physics with William B. Shockley and Walter H. Brattain for their joint invention of the transistor. In 1972, with Leon N. Cooper and John R. Schrieffer, Bardeen was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics again, this time for the first successful explanation of superconductivity.

Focusing on such areas as electrical conduction in semiconductors and metals, and surface properties of semiconductors, Bardeen was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1954. Early Years John Bardeen was born in Madison, Wisconsin, on May 23, 1908, the son of Dr. Charles R. Bardeen, the dean of the University of Wisconsin medical school. His intelligence apparent at an early age, Bardeen's parents had him skip from third grade right into junior high. He enrolled at the University of Wisconsin when he was 15 and majored in engineering, later getting his master's in engineering at UW as well. When Bardeen emerged from UW with his advanced degree, jobs were scarce, as the Depression was in full swing, and he ended up accepting a position with Gulf Oil as a geophysicist. After three years, Bardeen realized that his interests lay elsewhere and he went back to school, this time to Princeton for his Ph.D. in mathematical physics. At Princeton, Bardeen began his serious studies of metals under Professor E.P. Wigner, using new theories of quantum mechanics to help further understanding of semiconductors.

He finished his dissertation in 1935 and was offered a junior fellow position at Harvard, where he spent the next three years. During his stint at Harvard, Bardeen married Jane Maxwell. The couple would go on to have three children. The Nobel Prizes In 1945, after World War II came to an end, Bardeen took a position with Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he engaged in further research on semiconductors, specifically on how they conduct electrons. Two years later, Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain unveiled the transistor to the world, kick-starting a revolution in electronics. Besides replacing the vacuum tube, which was bulky and much larger, the transistor allowed for the miniaturizing of components needed for the eventual evolution of computers. The invention would lead to Bardeen and his fellow researchers winning the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956. Meanwhile, Bardeen had returned to his earlier research on superconductivity, research that eventually explained the disappearance of electrical resistance when materials reach temperatures close to absolute zero. His work with L.N. Cooper and J.R.

Schrieffer resulted in the BCS theory of superconductivity (named for the trio's initials), which became the foundational theory for all later work in superconductivity. It also led to Bardeen's second Nobel Prize for Physics, which he shared with Cooper and Schrieffer. Legacy Nobel prizes aside, John Bardeen was one of the most decorated and influential scientists of his time. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1954 and was awarded the Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society in 1955 and the Fritz London Award for work in low-temperature physics in 1962. Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us ! Citation Information Minnesota Physics Nobel Laureates - Physics at Minnesota Minnesota Physics Nobel Laureates Arthur Compton Arthur H. Compton began his post-doctoral research in X-ray scattering at Minnesota where he was a physics instructor during 1916-17. While those early experiments were not an immediate success, they paved the way for his Nobel-prize winning discovery of the Compton Effect.

In 1922 Compton calculated that a quantum of radiation undergoes a discrete change in wavelength when it experiences a billiard ball collison with an electron at rest in an atom, and his X-ray scattering experiments confirmed this change in wavelength. The phenomenon soon became known as the Compton Effect, and for his discovery he received the Nobel in 1927. Ernest Lawrence Ernest O. Lawrence received his masters degree from the University of Minnesota in 1923. He began his research in nuclear physics at Minnesota, which led to his invention six years later of a device for accelerating nuclear particles to very high velocities without the use of high voltages. This device, the cyclotron, was used to bombard atoms of various elements, disintegrating the atoms to form, in some cases, completely new elements. Hundreds of radioactive isotopes of the known elements were also discovered.Ernest O. Lawrence won the Nobel Prize in 1939 for the invention of the cyclotron and for results obtained with it. Walter Brattain Walter H. Brattain spent three years at the University Minnesota and received his Ph.D. in 1929.

Before taking a post at Bell Labs, Brattain began his research which was concerned with thermionic emission and adsorbed layers on tungsten. He continued on into the field of rectification and photo-effects at semiconductor surfaces, beginning with a study of rectification at the surface of cuprous oxide. This work was followed by similar studies of silicon. Brattain discovered the photo-effect at the free surface of a semiconductor; with Bardeen he invented the point-contact transistor, and his research led to a better understanding of the surface properties of semiconductors, with Bardeen, Garrett, and Boddy. Walter Brattain won the Nobel Prize in 1956 with John Bardeen and William Shockley for their research on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect. ' John Bardeen John Bardeen was an assistant professor of physics at the University of Minnesota from 1938-41. He left to act as a civilian physicist at the Naval Ordinance Laboratory in Washington, D.C duirng World War II.

After the war, Bardeen joined Bell labs where he his research focused on electrical conduction in semiconductors and metals, surface properties of semiconductors, theory of superconductivity, and diffusion of atoms in solids. John Bardeen won the Nobel Prize in 1956 with Walter Brattain and William Shockley for their research on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect. He won the Nobel prize again in 1972 with Leon Cooper and John Schrieffer for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory. John van Vleck John van Vleck was offered an assistant professorship at the University of Minnesota in 1923, a year after his Ph. D. at Harvard, with only graduate courses to teach. This was an unusual as this type of teaching was generally reserved for older men. Minnesota was unique in the nation as teaching first graduate courses in quantum mechnics and van Vleck\'s expertise in that field allowed him to be a valuable asset to the curriculum. van Vleck met and married Abigail Pearson at Minnesota before returning to his home town Madison, Wisconsin in 1928 to teach at the University of Wisconsin.

His principal research interest was magnetism and he is widely regarded as the recognised as the father of modern magnetism. John van Vleck won the Nobel Prize in 1977 with Philip Anderson and Sir Nevill Mott for their fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems. School of Physics & Astronomy - 116 Church Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 Phone: 612-624-7375 Fax: 612-624-4578 ©2005-2013 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer Twin Cities Campus: Awards & Recognition - Bell Labs Bell Labs Global recognition for groundbreaking discovery Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. 2014 Eric Betzig was awarded 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “For the Development of Super-Resolved Fluorescence Microscopy” which is capable of measuring images of molecules from within living cells.

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize is among the world's most coveted award in intellectual achievement. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded Nobel Prizes in Physics since 1901. 2009 Invention and development of the charge-coupled device (CCD), a technology that transforms patterns of light into useful digital information and is the basis for many forms of modern imaging. 1998 Discovery and explanation of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations (the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect.) 1997 Development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light. (Prize shared with Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William D. Phillips.) 1978 Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation that in turn provided clear substantiation of the "big bang" theory of how the universe began. 1977 Fundamental theoretical insights into the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems". (Prize shared with Sir Nevill Francis Mott and John Hasbrouck van Vleck.) 1956 Research on semiconductors that led to the invention of the transistor in 1947.

1937 Discovery of the diffraction of electrons by crystals and demonstrated the wave nature of matter. (Prize shared with George Paget Thomson.) U.S. National Medal of Science Established by the United States Congress in 1959 and first awarded in 1963, the National Medal of Science is presented by the U.S. President to individuals "deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences." 1996 Invention of the carbon dioxide laser, which led to numerous scientific, industrial, and medical applications. 1996 Applying engineering techniques and speech science to solve underlying problems in speech communication. 1993 Al Cho Pioneering research leading to the development of molecular beam epitaxy, a technique that revolutionized thin film growth making possible atomically accurate structures for electronic and optoelectronic devices, and for the study of new quantum phenomena. 1988 William O. Baker Pioneering studies of the complex relationships between the molecular structures and physical properties of polymers; a distinguished record of leadership in the combined disciplines of science and engineering; distinguished service to government and education.

1986 Contributions to science and technology policy in the United States. 1982 Fundamental contributions to the theoretical understanding of condensed matter. 1974 Rudolph Kompfner Invention of the traveling-wave tube as well as highly significant scientific insights underlying communication satellites and optical communications. 1973 John Tukey Mathematical and theoretical statistical contributions including the analytical tool known as fast Fourier transform for understanding waveforms in fields from astrophysics to electrical engineering. 1963 John Pierce Contributions to communications theory, electron optics and traveling wave tubes, and for the analysis leading to world-wide radio communications using artificial earth satellites. 1991 The conception of the laser and in advancing its applications, especially in laser spectroscopy. 1982 Charles Townes Contributions to the understanding of matter through its interaction with electromagnetic radiations and the application of this knowledge towards the invention of the maser and laser. 1966 Brilliant contributions to the mathematical theories of communications and information processing. U.S.

National Medal of Technology & Innovation Established by the United States Congress in 1980, and first awarded in 1985, the National Medal of Technology is presented by the United States President to individuals, teams, or companies, for accomplishments in the innovation, development, commercialization, and management of technology. 2006 Pioneering research and leadership associated with lasers, optoelectronics, integrated optics, and lightwave communication systems. 2006 James E. West Co-invention of the electret microphone in 1962. Ninety percent of the two billion microphones produced annually and used in everyday items such as telephones, hearing aids, camcorders, and multimedia computers employ electret technology. 2005 Alfred Cho Invention of the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technology and the development of the MBE technology into an advanced electronic and photonic devices production tool. 2001 Arun Netravali Leadership in the field of communication systems and for pioneering contributions that transformed TV from analog to digital. 1998 Dennis Ritchie and Kenneth Thompson Development of UNIX® operating system and the C programming language.

1994 Richard Frenkiel and Joel Engel Contributions to the theory, design, and development of cellular mobile communications systems. 1993 Vision and leadership in introducing electronic switching and other related communications technology. 1992 W. Lincoln Hawkins Research leading to long-lived plastic coatings for communications cable that has saved billions of dollars for telephone companies around the world. 1990 John Mayo Role in managing the conversion of the national switched telephone network from analog to digital-based technology. 1985 Bell Labs Contributions over decades to modern communications systems. It was the first institution ever to be recognized with this honor. Turing Award First awarded in 1966 by the Association for Computing Machinery, the Turing Award is considered to be the highest distinction in Computer Science and is presented to individuals who have made lasting and highly important contributions of a technical nature to the computing community. 1986 Robert Tarjan With John Hopcroft, for fundamental achievements in the design and analysis of algorithms and data structures. 1983 Dennis Ritchie and Kenneth Thompson Development of generic operating systems theory and specifically for the implementation of the UNIX operating system.

1968 For work on numerical methods, automatic coding systems, and error-detecting and error-correcting codes Kyoto Prize The Kyoto Prize is Japan’s highest private award for global achievement. The Prize is given not only to those that are top representatives of their own respective field, but also to those that have contributed to humanity with their work. 1985 “Establishment of Mathematical Foundation of Information Theory” 2001 Izuo Hayashi and Morton B. Panish "Success in continuous operation of semiconductor lasers at room temperature - a pioneering step in optoelectronics" 1989 Amos Edward Joel, Jr. “Pioneering Contribution to the Electronic Switching Technology for Telecommunications, Especially that Based on the Concept of "Stored Program Control" Marconi Society Lifetime Achievement Award In addition to its International Fellowship Award, the Marconi Society began in 2000 to honor a small number of individuals for their lifetime of achievement 2009 Recognition for his leading expertise in switching. 2003 Widely recognized champion of communications research and development. 2000 Lifetime achievement in information theory.

Marconi International Fellowship Award Awarded by the Marconi Society since 1975, the Marconi Prize is granted to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of communications through scientific or technological discoveries. 2009 Andrew Chraplyvy and Robert Tkach Insights into how information is transmitted over optical networks and for finding innovative ways to significantly increase the speed and capacity of optical fiber communications systems. 2001 Pioneering the development of fiber optic technology - work that has revolutionized modern telecommunications. 1995 Jacob Ziv Contributions to the fields of communications and information theory, and in particular for his work on the Lempel-Ziv data compression algorithm. 1993 Contributions to optoelectronic technology and for his life contribution to communications science. 1992 Pioneering contributions to speech technology. 1987 Invention of the automatically adaptive equalizer. 1979 Outstanding advances in space and satellite technologies relevant to improving world communications. 1977 Research in the fields of optical and microwave spectroscopy, nuclear quadruple resonance superconductivity and lasers. Draper Prize Since 1989, the Charles Stark Draper Prize has been awarded by the U.S.

National Academy of Engineering in recognition of outstanding engineering achievements. It is considered among the highest forms of recognition within the field of engineering. 2013 Richard Frenkiel and Joel Engel Pioneering contributions to the world’s first cellular telephone networks, systems, and standards. 2006 Williard Boyle and George Smith The invention of the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD), a light-sensitive component at the heart of digital cameras and other widely used imaging technologies. 1999 John MacChesney The conception and invention of optical fiber for communications and for the development of manufacturing processes that made the telecommunications revolution possible. 1995 Development of communication satellite technology. Japan Prize Established and endorsed by the Japanese cabinet in 1983 and first awarded in 1985, the Japan Prize is presented to individuals “whose original and outstanding achievements are not only scientifically impressive, but have also served to promote peace and prosperity for all mankind.” 2011 Dennis Ritchie and Kenneth Thompson Development of the UNIX operating system. 2003 Discovery of the principle for functional magnetic resonance imaging. 1985 Outstanding achievement in the field of electronics and communications technologies.

C&C Prize Established in 1985, the highly regarded C&C (Computers and Communication) Prize is awarded by the NEC Corporation to individuals for their pioneering work in the fields of semiconductors, computers, and telecommunications. 2007 Pioneering contributions to research and development resulting in low-loss optical fiber. 1999 George Smith and Willard Boyle Invention of the charge-coupled device (CCD) 1997 Barry Haskell and Arun Netravali Pioneering work in digital video data compression technology. 1995 Akira Hasegawa Discovery of Soliton in optical fiber and the pioneering contribution made in application of ultra-high speed optical fiber communication. 1995 Alfred Cho Seminal contributions to molecular beam epitaxy, a technology which is revolutionizing high performance optoelectronics and electronics for computers and communications. 1991 Jack Sipress Leadership in the development of high-speed digital fiber-guide systems that span the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, thereby giving global digital connectivity over high capacity cables. 1989 Dennis Ritchie and Kenneth Thompson Creation of UNIX Operating System and the C-language.

1988 Eric Summer, John Mayo, and Aaron Robert Pioneering contributions to the establishment of a basic technology for digital communications by development of the world's first practical commercial high-speed digital communication system. 1986 Morton Panish and Izuo Hayashi Conception and development of the first room-temperature continuous-wave semiconductor injection laser with double heterostructure. IEEE Medal of Honor First awarded in 1917, the IEEE Medal of Honor is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers highest form of recognition 2005 Sustained leadership and outstanding contributions in speech technology. 2001 Herwig Kogelnik Fundamental contributions to the science and technology of lasers and optoelectronics, and for leadership in research and development of photonics and lightwave communication systems. 1994 Seminal contributions to the development of molecular beam epitaxy. 1992 Fundamental contributions to and leadership in telecommunications switching systems. 1989 Fundamental contributions to quantum electronics, including the carbon dioxide laser and the spin-flip Raman laser. 1982 Contributions to the spectral analysis of random processes and the fast Fourier transform algorithm. 1981 Fundamental contributions to filtering and signal processing leading to chirp radar.

1980 William Shockley Invention of the junction transistor, the analog and the junction field - effect transistor, and the theory underlying their operation. 1977 H. Earl Vaughan Vision, technical contributions and leadership in the development of the first high - capacity pulse-code-modulation time-division telephone switching system. 1975 John Pierce Pioneering concrete proposals and the realization of satellite communication experiments, and for contributions in theory and design of traveling wave tubes and in electron beam optics essential to this success. 1973 Rudolf Kompfner Major contribution to world - wide communication through the conception of the traveling wave tube embodying a new principle of amplification. 1971 John Bardeen Profound contributions to the understanding of the conductivity of solids, to the invention of the transistor, and to the microscopic theory of superconductivity. 1967 Charles Townes Significant contributions in the field of quantum electronics which have led to the maser and the laser. 1966 Claude Shannon Development of a mathematical theory of communication which unified and significantly advanced the state of the art. 1963 Pioneering contributions to microwave radio physics, to radio astronomy, and to waveguide transmission.

1960 Fundamental contributions to a quantitative understanding of thermal noise, data transmission and negative feedback. National Inventors Hall of Fame The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization dedicated to honoring inventors and their inventions. 2016 MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) 2009 Electric field controlled semiconductor device 2008 Switching concept for cellular phones 2008 Transistor Academy Award The Academy Award of Merit is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for excellence in association with cinema. 1936 E. C. Wente and Bell Labs Scientific and Engineering Award - For their multicellular high-frequency horn and receiver. American Academy of Arts and Sciences - Rumford Prize The Rumford Prize, awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, is one of the oldest scientific prizes in the United States. The prize recognizes contributions by scientists to the fields of heat and light. 2015 Federico Capasso and Alfred Cho Recognized for invention and application of laser technology.

The Brain Prize The Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize – ‘The Brain Prize’- is awarded to one or more scientists who have distinguished themselves by an outstanding contribution to European neuroscience and who are still active in research. 2015 2015 Brain Prize The 2015 Brain Prize award honors work by David Tank, Winfried Denk, Karel Svoboda (during their tenure at Bell Labs) and Arthur Konnerth that resulted in two-photon microscopes, now commercially available, that can be used to look at how brain processes Grammy Award Since 1959, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has honored individuals and organizations with a Grammy Award to recognize outstanding achievements in the field of music. 2016 Technical GRAMMY® for work on stereo sound. 2006 Outstanding technical contributions to the recording field. Emmy Award The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presents its Emmy Award in recognition of excellence in the television industry. 2017 2016 Technical/Engineering Achievement Awards for Pioneering Invention and Deployment of Fiber Optic Cable 1994 For the HDTV Grand Alliance Standard.

Recent Awards 2016 Edison Patent Award Ilija Hadzic, Dennis R.Morgan, Zulfiquar Sayeed, Alf Neustadt - for “Method, apparatus and system for frequency synchronization between devices communicating over a packet network” 2016 R&D Council Science & Technology Medal Marcus Weldon - for his vision for Bell Labs and directing the organization’s innovation in the pivotal areas of foundational networking technologies and systems for the ‘cloud networking’ era, via 10x game-changing research and ‘Future X’ projects. 2016 Harvey Fletcher — Technical GRAMMY® Award - for contributions to the recording arts. 2016 National Inventors Hall of Fame Victor B. Lawrence - for signal processing in telecommunications. 2015 American Academy of Arts and Sciences — Rumford Prize Federico Capasso and Alfred Cho (2015) — Recognized for invention and application of laser technology. In 1994, at Bell Labs, Capasso and Cho invented the quantum cascade (QC) laser.

2015 2015 Brain Prize The 2015 Brain Prize award honors work by David Tank, Winfried Denk, Karel Svoboda (during their tenure at Bell Labs) and Arthur Konnerth that resulted in two-photon microscopes, now commercially available, that can be used to look at how brain processes 2015 Dahl-Nygaard Prize Bjarne Stroustrup was awarded the 2015 Senior Dahl-Nygaard Prize for the design, implementation and evolution of the C++ programming language. 2014 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Eric Betzig was awarded 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “For the Development of Super-Resolved Fluorescence Microscopy” which is capable of measuring images of molecules from within living cells. 2013 2013 IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Award Andy Chraplyvy and Bob Tkach were honored this award for contributions to the science and technology for optical communications enabling high-speed wavelength division multiplexing through the mitigation of the effects of fiber nonlinearity.

2012 International Teletraffic Congress Arne Jensen Lifetime Achievement Award — Debasis Mitra For outstanding contributions to tele-traffic science 2012 R35 India – Animesh Nandi Recognized by TR35 India as one of India’s top young innovators by MIT's Technology Review magazine for his work on privacy-preserving personalization systems and large-scale distributed systems. 2012 U. S. National Academy of Engineering Membership – Alan Gnauck For contributions to high-speed, high-capacity lightwave communications systems. Election to the NAE is considered to be among the highest recognitions in engineering-related fields, and it often comes as recognition of a lifetime's worth of accomplishments. 2011 World Technology Awards – Gabriel Charlet For innovative work of the greatest likely long-term significance from the World Technology Network (WTN) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. He has also been named a WTN Fellow. 2011 Optical Society 2012 Fellowship - Peter Winzer For seminal contributions to optical communications and data networking, in particular advanced optical modulation formats and advanced optical receiver concepts.

2011 Optical Society 2012 Fellowship - Sethumadhavan Chandrasekhar For seminal contributions to high-performance opto-electronic integrated circuits, wavelength division multiplexed transmission and high-capacity coherent optical transmission. 2010 World TR35 – Gabriel Charlet Recognized by MIT's Technology Review magazine as one of the world’s top young innovators for Record-breaking optical fibers for global communications. 2013 TR35 France - Massimiliano Salsi Recognized by MIT's Technology Review magazine as a top young innovator in France for his research on transmitting large amounts of data (100 Gbit/s) through transoceanic cables. 2013 U. S. National Inventors Hall of Fame - Arthur Ashkin For his role in inventing optical trapping, also called optical tweezing, a process that traps molecules and macroscopic particles by using laser light. 2012 Optical Society 2013 Fellowship - Alice White For developing advanced nanofabrication techniques and applying them to integrated electronics and photonics to enable next generation lightwave devices.

2012 IEEE 2013 Fellow - Antonia Tulino For contributions to the design of algorithms and protocols for wireless networks. 2012 Optical Society 2013 Fellowship - Gregory Raybon For pioneering contributions to high-speed optical transmission systems and technologies. 2012 IEEE 2013 Fellow - Erran Li For contributions to the design of algorithms and protocols for wireless networks. 2012 IEEE 2013 Fellow - Rene-Jean Essiambre For contributions to fiber nonlinearities in optical telecommunication systems. 2013 Popular Science Brilliant Ten Award Nick Fontaine has been recognized for the Brilliant Ten award as one of North America’s top 10 young innovators by the Popular Science magazine. 2012 IEEE 2013 Edison Medal - Ivan P. Kaminow For pioneering, life-long contributions to and leadership in photonic devices and networks instrumental to global high-capacity optical networks. 2012 IEEE 2013 Alexander Graham Bell Medal - Andrew Chraplyvy and Robert Tkach For contributions to the science and technology of optical communications enabling high-speed wavelength division multiplexing through the mitigation of the effects of fiber nonlinearity.

2012 Transistor History - Invention of the Transistor Fascinating facts about the invention of Transistors by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley in 1947. TRANSISTOR Almost every piece of equipment that stores, transmits, displays, or manipulates information has at its core silicon chips filled with electronic circuitry. These chips each house many thousands or even millions of transistors. The history of the transistor begins with the dramatic scientific discoveries of the 1800's scientists like Maxwell, Hertz, Faraday, and Edison made it possible to harness electricity for human uses. Inventors like Braun, Marconi, Fleming, and DeForest applied this knowledge in the development of useful electrical devices like radio. Their work set the stage for the Bell Labs scientists whose challenge was to use this knowledge to make practical and useful electronic devices for communications. Teams of Bell Labs scientists, such as Shockley, Brattain, Bardeen, and many others met the challenge.--and invented the information age. They stood on the shoulders of the great inventors of the 19th century to produce the greatest invention of the our time: the transistor.

The transistor was invented in 1947 at Bell Telephone Laboratories by a team led by physicists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley. At first, the computer was not high on the list of potential applications for this tiny device. This is not surprisingwhen the first computers were built in the 1940s and 1950s, few scientists saw in them the seeds of a technology that would in a few decades come to permeate almost every sphere of human life. Before the digital explosion, transistors were a vital part of improvements in existing analog systems, such as radios and stereos. When it was placed in computers, however, the transistor became an integral part of the technology boom. They are also capable of being mass-produced by the millions on a sliver of siliconthe semiconductor chip. It is this almost boundless ability to integrate transistors onto chips that has fueled the information age. Today these chips are not just a part of computers. They are also important in devices as diverse as video cameras, cellular phones, copy machines, jumbo jets, modern automobiles, manufacturing equipment, electronic scoreboards, and video games.

Without the transistor there would be no Internet and no space travel. In the years following its creation, the transistor gradually replaced the bulky, fragile vacuum tubes that had been used to amplify and switch signals. The transistor became the building block for all modern electronics and the foundation for microchip and computer technology. TO LEARN MORE

Question: Who won the first of his Nobel prizes in 1956 for research which led to the invention of the transistor?
Answer: John Bardeen