C. Sheldon Roberts (October 27, 1926 – June 6, 2014)
was an American semiconductor pioneer, and member of the "
traitorous eight" who founded
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
.
Biography
Roberts earned a
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
metallurgical engineering
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1948, and a
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in 1949 and
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in 1952, from
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
.
He then worked in research at the
Naval Research Lab and the
Dow Chemical Company.
He joined the seminal
Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory
Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory was a pioneering semiconductor developer founded by William Shockley, and funded by Beckman Instruments, Inc., in 1955. It was the first high technology company in what came to be known as Silicon Valley to w ...
division of
Beckman Instruments
Beckman Coulter Inc. is a Danaher Corporation company that develops, manufactures, and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing. It operates in two industries: Diagnostics and Life Sciences. For more than ...
in
Mountain View, California
Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376.
Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...
, but left the company along with other members of the
traitorous eight with the backing of
Sherman Fairchild to form the influential
Fairchild Semiconductor corporation.
He later founded
Amelco (known now as
Teledyne
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an American industrial conglomerate. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky.
From August 1996 to November 1999, Teledyne existed as part of the conglomerate All ...
) with traitorous eight alumni
Jean Hoerni
Jean Amédée Hoerni (September 26, 1924 – January 12, 1997) was a Swiss-American engineer. He was a silicon transistor pioneer, and a member of the " traitorous eight". He developed the planar process, an important technology for reliably fab ...
and
Jay Last
Jay Taylor Last (October 18, 1929 – November 11, 2021) was an American physicist, silicon pioneer, and member of the so-called " traitorous eight" that founded Silicon Valley.
Early life and education
Last was born in Butler, Pennsylvania, on ...
.
References
External links
The Fairchild Chronicles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Sheldon
1926 births
2014 deaths
American metallurgists
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Silicon Valley people
Dow Chemical Company employees
Scientists at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory