[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1847]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO DOCTOR JACK KILBY

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                         HON. RICHARD K. ARMEY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 18, 2000

  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor a distinguished 
American and someone who I am proud to say resides in the 26th District 
of the great state of Texas, Dr. Jack Kilby. Just a few days ago Dr. 
Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his part in the 
invention and development of the integrated circuit.
  Dr. Kilby's invention of the monolithic integrated circuit--the 
microchip--some 30 years ago laid the conceptual and technical 
foundation for the entire field of modern microelectronics. It was this 
breakthrough that made possible the sophisticated high-speed computers 
and large-capacity semiconductor memories of today's information age.
  Dr. Kilby grew up in Great Bend, Kansas. In 1958, he joined Texas 
Instruments in Dallas. During the summer of that year working with 
borrowed and improvised equipment, he conceived and built the first 
electronic circuit in which all of the components were fabricated in a 
single piece of semiconductor material half the size of a paper clip. 
The successful laboratory demonstration of that first simple microchip 
on September 12, 1958, made history.
  Jack Kilby went on to pioneer military, industrial, and commercial 
applications of microchip technology. He is the recipient of two of the 
nation's most prestigious honors in science and engineering; in 1970 he 
received the National Medal of Science, and in 1982 he was inducted 
into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, taking his place alongside 
Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers in the annals of 
American innovation.
  Mr. Speaker, the microchip is one of the most important inventions of 
the Information Age--indeed, it's one of the most important inventions 
in mankind's long history. Jack Kilby deserves our recognition and our 
thanks.

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