Robert Heath Dennard (born September 5, 1932) is an American

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

Biography

Dennard was born in

Terrell, Texas Terrell is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 17,465. Terrell is located about east of Dallas. History Terrell developed as a railroad town, beginning in 1873 with construction here ...

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, in 1954 and 1956, respectively. He earned a Ph.D. from

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, in 1958. His professional career was spent as a researcher for International Business Machines. In 1966 he invented the one transistor memory cell consisting of a transistor and a capacitor for which a patent was issued in 1968. It became basis for the today's

dynamic random-access memory Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal-oxide ...

(DRAM). Dennard was also among the first to recognize the tremendous potential of downsizing

MOSFET The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET), most commonly fabricated by the controlled oxidation of silicon. It has an insulated gate, the voltage of which d ...

s. The scaling theory he and his colleagues formulated in 1974 postulated that MOSFETs continue to function as voltage-controlled switches while all key figures of merit such as layout density, operating speed, and energy efficiency improve – provided geometric dimensions, voltages, and doping concentrations are consistently scaled to maintain the same electric field. This property underlies the achievement of

Moore's Law Moore's law is the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years. Moore's law is an observation and projection of a historical trend. Rather than a law of physics, it is an empir ...

and the evolution of microelectronics over the last few decades. In 1984, Dennard was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for pioneering work in FET technology, including invention of the one transistor dynamic RAM and contributions to scaling theory.

Awards and honors

* Robert N. Noyce Award (2019) * Kyoto Prize (2013) *

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

Honorary Doctor of Science and Technology (2010) *

IEEE Medal of Honor The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, when its first recipient was Major Edwin H. Armstrong. It is given for an exceptional contribution ...

(2009) * IEEE Edison Medal (2001) *Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering from The Franklin Institute (2007) *U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Charles Stark Draper Prize (2009) *elected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

(1997) *Southern Methodist University Honorary Doctor of Science (1997) * Harvey Prize from Technion Institute in Haifa / Israel (1990) *

Industrial Research Institute Innovation Research Interchange (IRI) is a division of the National Association of Manufacturers, a nonprofit association based in Washington, D. C., United States. IRI was founded as a private non-profit in 1938 and merged with the NAM in 2022. IR ...

(IRI) Achievement Award (1989) *U.S. National Medal of Technology (1988). * National Academy of Engineering Member (1984) * IEEE Cledo Brunetti Award (1982) * appointed IBM Fellow (1979)

References

External links

* . * . 1932 births Living people 20th-century American inventors American electrical engineers Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering alumni People from Terrell, Texas National Medal of Technology recipients IEEE Edison Medal recipients Draper Prize winners IBM employees IBM Fellows Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering MOSFETs IEEE Medal of Honor recipients Members of the American Philosophical Society Kyoto laureates in Advanced Technology {{US-compu-bio-stub

Biography

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links