Origins of Silicon Valley (and the Attempt to Replicate in NJ)
Register early to assure attendance!
Why did Silicon Valley come into being? IEEE Life Fellow Paul Wesling fascinatingly pulls together tech, financial, and social factors that mixed together to produce it:
- local Hams (amateur radio operators) trying to break RCA's tube patents;
- Stanford “angel” investors;
- the sinking of the Titanic;
- Fred Terman and Stanford University;
- local invention of high-power tubes (gammatron, klystron);
- WW II and radar;
- William Shockley's mother residence in Palo Alto; and
- the development of a supportive SF Bay Area infrastructure.
These factors mixed together placed the semiconductor and IC industries into the Santa Clara Valley, and the infrastructure development helps to keep it there as new technologies emerged.
Still… worldwide, similar factors can be placed to promote local innovation. Dr. Bob Lucky will present a story of one attempt to replicate this, and what would still be needed to replicate this today – reenergizing the Monmouth/Ocean area, and the rest of NJ, as a leader in tech innovation. (After all, the FIRST Menlo Park was in NJ, not CA!)
Date and Time
Location
Hosts
Registration
- Date: 23 Sep 2019
- Time: 06:00 PM to 08:30 PM
- All times are (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
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- 101 Crawfords Corner Rd.
- Holmdel, New Jersey
- United States 07733
- Building: Bell Works
- Room Number: Library
- Starts 05 August 2019 04:20 PM
- Ends 23 September 2019 08:30 PM
- All times are (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Paul Wesling, MS, IEEE Life Fellow
The Origins of Silicon Valley: Why and How It Happened
Paul Wesling has observed the Valley for decades as an engineer, executive, resident, and educator, and has presented this talk world-wide. An IEEE Electronics Packaging Society Distinguished Lecturer, he will give an exciting and colorful history of device technology development and innovation that began in Palo Alto, then spread across the Santa Clara Valley during and following World War II. You'll meet some of the colorful characters – Cyril Elwell, Lee De Forest, Bill Eitel, Charles Litton, Fred Terman, David Packard, Bill Hewlett, Russ Varian and others – who came to define the worldwide electronics industries through their inventions and process development. You’ll understand some of the novel management approaches that have become the hallmarks of tech startups, and the kinds of engineers/developers who thrive in this work environment. He’ll end by telling us about some current local organizations that keep alive the spirit of the Hams, the Homebrew Computer Club, and the other entrepreneurial groups where geeks gather to invent the future.
As vice president of publications for the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society for 22 years, Paul supervised four archival journals and a newsletter. He received the IEEE’s Centennial Medal, the Board's Distinguished Service award, the Society Contribution Award, and the IEEE's Third Millennium Medal.
Dr. Bob Lucky, Ph.D., IEEE Fellow
An Early Attempt to Replicate Silicon Valley in NJ
Dr. Bob Lucky, a former Executive Director of Bell Labs and Vice President at Bellcore, will present an example of an attempt to replicate Silicon Valley in the Central NJ area.
Biography:
A detailed biography of Bob Lucky may be found at the Engineering and Technology History Wiki.
Agenda
6:00 PM - Free Pizza and drinks (People are requested to come by 6:00 PM and not later than 6:30 PM)
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM - Talks by Paul and Bob