Commemorative Lectures

Lecture topics

My Computer Odyssey

Abstract of the lecture

My early experiences in student government helped me to learn about teamwork and making compromises. My engineering work required teamwork and compromising computer speed for chip size. My student government public speaking experiences helped me in my teaching career. My college education in mathematics and logic helped me to design computer arithmetic units. Although I started college with no particular profession in mind, my college work in computers brought me into industry as a programmer, where I learned about computer design and integrated circuits. When I started my computer odyssey in college there were only a handful of books on computing, and the state of computer science was quite young. After 35 years I find thousands of books on computers and the field is expanding much more rapidly than I can keep up with. By accident I fell into the computer field and have stayed in this expanding and growing field. I still am inquisitive and take chances in new products and with new companies. Our microcomputer invention has led to thousands of specialized uses and the personal computers are being used everywhere. I feel that the computers are often abused but that many lives are enhanced because of their use. At the Inventor's Hall of Fame last year, a blind professor came up to me and thanked me for our microcomputer invention, which has enabled him to be productive on his computer even though he has no sight. I was very touched by his comments and his sincerity. It was gratifying to have worked with these fine engineers and fellow laureates when we were together at Intel. It was great to have been part of an international team and to work in Europe. I am lucky to be surrounded by my sons, my brother and sister and my wife and to share my story with all of you today. Thank you, Dr. Inamori and the Foundation, for this wonderful award.

Lecture topics

A Few Thoughts on Computer Technology for the 21st Century

Abstract of the lecture

While the 20th century has seen enormous technological progress, it has also seen enormous human population growth. That population growth has led to heavy demands on the finite resources of our planet. While some people see technology as a negative influence and wish to revert to a simpler life style, that simpler life style is just too inefficient to be tolerated any more. Our only hope is to both limit further population growth and make use of technology to use our limited resources more efficiently. One of the most powerful tools developed during the last century was the digital computer. Digital computers are applicable to many areas of technology. The microprocessor reduced the cost of digital computers and made computing power available in a manner that allows computation to be built into many different types of systems. The microprocessor also made possible the personal computer. The availability of computer networks such as the Internet has increased the appeal of personal computers to the general public. However, we should remember that Internet access is not the only usage for microprocessors. Embedded control microprocessors have many uses in appliances, automobiles, and as a part of many other systems, and help us to use resources more efficiently. Continued progress in computers should lead to a variety of new features in the systems we use. Language translation could improve communication systems, pattern recognition should lead to the self-steering automobile. To ensure continued research into these embedded applications, we must continue to inspire our young people to enter the computing profession, and we must train these young computer scientists to view computers in their broadest perspective, not just to perceive them as network access devices.

Lecture topics

My Life in Silicon Valley: Bringing New Products into the World

Abstract of the lecture

I grew up in Italy. Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated by machines, airplanes in particular. I wanted to become a pilot. By the age of 12, I designed and built my first flying model plane. Creating model planes became a passion that led me to choose a technical education. In 1961, at the age of 19, working for Olivetti, I designed most of a small digital computer, and I led a team of four technicians that successfully built it. My desire to gain more depth of understanding brought me to study Physics at the University of Padua (Italy), where I received a Coctorate in Physics, summa cum laude, in 1965. A chance work trip to Silicon Valley in 1966 opened up a new world to me, a world I wanted to be a part of The opportunity to permanently settle in Silicon Valley came in 1968. Working for Fairchild Semiconductor in their famous R&D Laboratories in Palo Alto, California, I led the development of the Silicon Gate Technology, a new advanced fabrication method for MOS integrated circuits (IC), that heralded the LSI (large scale integration) era. I joined Intel in 1970 to lead the design effort of the world's first microprocessor, the 4004, and over the following five years I led or supervised the design of more than two dozen commercial IC's including the 8080 microprocessor, the product which greatly stimulated the growth of the emerging microprocessor market. I caught the entrepreneur bug in 1974 D a typical illness in Silicon Valley D and I co-founded Zilog, a company entirely dedicated to microprocessors. I conceived Zilog's first product, the Z80 microprocessor, which became a best seller. Introduced in 1976 it is still in high volume production today. Zilog played a vital role the early years of the microprocessor, and as CEO of Zilog, I learned the difficult lessons of running a company in a highly competitive business. During the following seventeen years I co-founded and was the CEO of two other companies, Cygnet Technologies and Synaptics. At Cygnet, in early 1984, we introduced an intelligent phone that, connected to a personal computer, allowed the PC to become a voice and data workstation. Synaptics, started in 1986, is dedicated to the development and commercialization of human to computer interface products, based on giving the computer the ability to recognize sensory inputs D touch, hearing and sight. In 1995 Synaptics introduced the touchpad, a new type of pointing device that, just like the skin of the computer, senses the position of a finger in a sensing surface. The touchpad has been very successful, and the company has grown rapidly and is quite successful. Understanding how the brain works has been one of my personal interests since the mid-80s. In particular, I am fascinated by the question of how consciousness can emerge from the operation of a complex machine. To this question I dedicate much of the spare time I have. I believe that our search to learn how to make a machine intelligent will naturally lead us to deepen our understanding of our human nature, learning what are the unique properties that make us human, and what is our role in this wondrous universe. I wouldn't be surprised if in due time we will discover that we all possess a deep spiritual dimension connecting us to the purpose of the Cosmos.

Lecture topics

The Microprocessor and I: It All Starts with the Application

Abstract of the lecture

The world's first microprocessor, the 4004, was co-developed by Busicom, a Japanese manufacturer of calculators, and Intel, a U.S. manufacturer of semiconductors. During the development of a general-purpose LSI for desktop calculators and other business machines, originally based on a decimal computer and a stored program logic, a basic architecture, a framework of a binary computer, was developed in August 1969; a concrete plan for the 4004 system was finalized in December 1969; and the first microprocessor was finally completed in March 1971. The success of the 4004 is attributable to the cooperation between engineers of various development fields: applications, computers, software, LSI's etc. By exchanging their expertise and ideas in an interdisciplinary way, and by addressing the great many problems with patience and a challenging spirit, these engineers sowed the seeds of a new technology and grew a finished product. Microprocessors, which became the "technology to open up a new era," had two outstanding impacts. First, microprocessors opened up a new "program age," through replacing with software, the hardware logic circuit networks, comprising IC's of the former "logic age." This led to the development of "intelligent" microcomputers. At the same time, microprocessors allowed young engineers access to the power of computers, through which they could challenge established ideas, permitting the creative development of personal computers and computer games, which in turn led to growth in the software industry, and paved the way to the development of high-performance microprocessors. Since creative development refers to the development of a product that does not yet exist, engineers involved in creative development can be likened to explorers who go into unmapped territory without a compass. Engineers and explorers share two contrasting feelings: hope for success and fear of failure. In addition, engineers can be likened to artists or religionists, who create their own world. To conceive a new concept in creative development, an engineer must be armed with the firm belief that his mission is nothing but development, and must be determined to go his own way, never following another's tracks. The essential point of creative development is detaching oneself from one's desire to use what is now available. It is never easy to abandon past achievements, conventional technologies, and know-how. To take the first step towards success, however, an engineer must analyze his past achievements and currently available technologies, and extract only the essence, eliminating the remainder. A development that has many complex problems to be addressed can be compared to the fine cutting of a precious jewel. Like a jeweler who discovers, cuts, and polishes the mineral into a glittering jewel, engineers pour all their wisdom into creative development, and they find endless delight in the development process.