Notes
Abbreviations for Sources of Material
Abbreviation Full Name
AIP
Center for History of Physics, American Institute for Physics, College Park, Md.
Anon.
Source requested anonymity
ASB
Ann Bowers
CHC
California History Center, De Anza College, Cupertino, Calif.
DA
Dietz and Associates, Kennebunk, Maine
DSN
Donald S. Noyce
ELEC
Electrochemical Society, Pennington, N.J.
FMCA
Ford Motor Company archives, Ford Motor Company
GCA
Grinnell College archives, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
GRSPL
Grinnell Room, Stewart Public Library, Grinnell, Iowa
HPA
Hewlett-Packard archives, Hewlett-Packard Corporation
IA
Intel archives, Intel Corporation
IEEE
IEEE History Center Oral History Collection, Rutgers, New Brunswick, N.J.
LF
Libra Foundation, Portland, Maine
MIT
Institute Archives and Special Collections, MIT Libraries, Cambridge, Mass.
MITP
MIT University Physics Department
PSC
Pacific Studies Center, Mountain View, Calif.
SIA
Semiconductor Industry Association reading room
SSC
Stanford Special Collections, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
ST
SEMATECH archives
Introduction
1. Bob Noyce took me under his wing: Steve Jobs, interview by author.
2. Big is bad, small cooperates more: Noyce, “The Fruit of Success,” Chemtech, Dec. 1979. Restock the stream: Noyce quoted in Susan J. Grodsky, “From the Covered Wagon to the Silicon Chip: Robert Noyce, Pioneer,” The Grinnell Magazine, April–May 1983.
3. Let’s see if you can top: Noyce in “Living Legends, Profiles from the National Business Hall of Fame,” [video], ST. He tried to excel: Penny Noyce speaking at the SEMATECH memorial service for Bob Noyce, 9 June 1990 [video], ASB.
4. Had never jumped: Bill Davidow, interview by author. Go out and do something: Noyce in Bill Davidow, Gene Flath, and Robert Noyce oral history [1983], IA. Like the pied piper: Roger Borovoy, interview by author.
5. Aloof and charming: Andy Grove, interview by author.
6. Everybody liked Bob: Warren Buffett, interview by author.
7. Portable telephones: Noyce, interview by Herbert S. Kleiman, 1965, audiotape, SSC. Butterfly hopping: Andy Grove, interview by author.
8. If you weren’t intimidated by Noyce: Jim Lafferty, interview by author.
9. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford: “Remembering Bob Noyce: A Special Tribute,” four-page insert to San Jose Mercury News, 17 June 1990. Man who changed the world: “Osgood Files” [video], ASB. Tom Wolfe wrote about Noyce: Tom Wolfe, “The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce: How the Sun Rose on Silicon Valley,” Esquire, Dec. 1983, 346–74. Most important American: George Gilder quoted in the internal Intel publication Inteleads, July 1990, IA. Most important moment: Isaac Asmiov quoted in Miller Bonner, W. Lane Boyd, and Janet A. Allen, “Robert N. Noyce, 1927–1990,” commemorative brochure internally published by SEMATECH, ST.
10. Roots are important: Noyce’s contribution to the Grinnell High School Class of 1945’s fortieth reunion booklet, courtesy Robert Kaloupek. My hobby is handicraft: 1939 scrapbook labeled “My Hobby,” ASB.
Chapter 1: Adrenaline and Gasoline
1. All time high: Noyce, Grinnell College application, courtesy Grinnell College. Scrapbook: “My Hobby,” 1939, ASB.
2. Paper balloons, lighting models afire: Gaylord Noyce, eulogy at the San Jose service for Bob Noyce; Wilfred George, “‘The Rest of the Story’ about Dr. Robert Noyce,” 4 Nov. 2001 [unpublished reminiscence], courtesy Wilfred George.
3. Barnstormer plane ride: Don Gregson, interview by author.
4. Matthews and Smith contributions: Bob Smith, interview by author; Charlotte Matthews, interview by author; Gaylord Noyce to author, 8 Sept. 2002. Description of glider: Gaylord Noyce to author, 8 Sept. 2002.
5. We succeeded in running: Gaylord Noyce to author, 8 Sept. 2002.
6. Jump off the roof and live: Noyce, Grinnell College application, courtesy Grinnell College.
7. I made the paste: Harriet Noyce, “I Remember” [unpublished memoir], 1988, DSN.
8. Do a lot and do it well: Gaylord Noyce, interview by author.
9. To be Christian leaders: Harriet Noyce, “I Remember.”
10. Denmark church: Donald S. Noyce, “Candles to Computers” [unpublished family history], 133–150.
11. Ralph Noyce’s salary and expenses: D. S. Noyce, “Candles to Computers,” 133–148.
12. Too bad he was a he: undated letter, ASB.
13. Ping Pong story: Nilo Lindgren, “Building a Rational Two-Headed Monster,” Innovation, 1970.
14. Depression in Atlantic and Webster City: D. S. Noyce, “Candles to Computers,” 157–187. For reasons no one quite understood, the money from Reverend Noyce’s account in the closed bank was restored a few weeks later.
15. Someone to tell things to: Ralph Brewster Noyce to Harriet Norton, 27 March 1921.
16. Ralph Noyce’s travel: D. S. Noyce, “Candles to Computers.”
17. Mothering with a daddy on the road, I felt the sense of belonging: Harriet Noyce, “I Remember,” 34.
18. Population of Grinnell: “Report on Population, Grinnell Comprehensive Plan 2001,” http://web.grinnell.edu/individuals/martzahn/Population.pdf Accessed Sept. 2002. Church count: “Grinnell During World War II” file, Collection #37, Stewart Library, Grinnell Room.
19. Less than 2 percent: Historical Statistics of the United States, Bicentennial ed. (Washington: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1975): Series H 700–15. Boys’ great-great-grandfather: “Robert Norton Noyce: in Admiration and Gratitude. A Resolution of the Grinnell College Board of Trustees, October 26, 1990,” file labeled “Noyce Death,” GCA.
20. Rhodes scholarship: Ralph B. Noyce to his mother, 9 Aug. 1949, DSN. Noyce childhood grades: report cards, ASB and DSN.
21. D-Day in Grinnell: Noyce refers to this in his valedictory speech (delivered 17 May 1945), courtesy Evan Ramstad.
22. Nearly 2,000 men: Alan Jones, Pioneering: A Photographic and Documentary History of Grinnell College (Grinnell College, 1996): 117. Details on Grinnell’s contributions to the war effort: untitled scrapbook in “Grinnell During World War II,” Collection #37, GRSPL.
23. Harriet had her hands full: Robert Smith, David Hamilton, and Charles Manly, interview by author. Trying to build electrical arc: Charlotte Matthews Keating, interview by author; Noyce’s clipping of the Popular Science article is in his “My Hobby” scrapbook, ASB. Noyce’s high school antics: author’s interviews with Grinnell residents.
24. Always in a hurry to get somewhere: Robert Kaloupek, interview by author.
25. All the girls were crazy about Bob: Charlotte Matthews Keating, interview by author. Most physically graceful: Marianne Standing Woolfe, interview by Evan Ramstad, April 1995, courtesy Evan Ramstad. Gift for trouble: Harriet Noyce, “I Remember,” 42.
26. Very fine boy: T. T. Cranny, letter recommending Bob’s admission to Grinnell College, 26 April 1945, courtesy Grinnell College. Quiz Kid of our class: Grinnell High School year book, 1945, GRSPL. Dismantling and rebuilding a watch: Robert Smith, David Hamilton, and Charles Manly, interview by author.
27. Noyce bereft at Gaylord’s departure: Harriet Noyce, “I Remember,” 37.
28. Relations between Noyces and Gales: Grant Gale, “Remembering Bob Noyce as a Student,” 4 Sept. 1990, DSN.
29. Gale’s teaching methods and homilies: Keith Olsen, interview by author, 30 July 2002.
30. In
terest was infectious: Noyce quoted in Ken Fuson, “The Man Who Shaped a Genius,” Des Moines Register, 10 June 1990, GCA. Noyce’s behavior in Gale’s class: Bettie Noyce, interview by author. Bettie was a student in this course before she married Don Noyce.
31. Almost a family tradition: Noyce’s college admissions essay, courtesy Grinnell College. Bright but common: Robert Smith, David Hamilton, and Charles Manly, interview by author.
32. Getting a nice bit of review: Bob Noyce to folks, “before July 1 [1945],” reprinted in D. S. Noyce, “Candles to Computers,” 228.
33. So Gay has seen the Statue of Liberty: Bob Noyce to folks, “before July 1 [1945],” ibid.
34. Whoopee!: Undated fragment of a letter from the summer at Miami of Ohio, reprinted in D. S. Noyce, “Candles to Computers,” 229.
35. My front teeth almost fell out: Bob Noyce to Home, 13 Aug. 1945, reprinted in D. S. Noyce, “Candles to Computers,” 231.
36. Another insignificant student: letter fragment, 16 July [1945], reprinted in D. S. Noyce, “Candles to Computeres,” 230. We expect great things from you: Samuel Stevens to Robert Noyce, 7 May 1945, courtesy Grinnell College.
37. Interest in Smythe report: Bob Noyce to Family, 22 Jan. [1946], ASB.
38. He never pushed himself forward: Scott Crom, interview by Evan Ramstad, April 1995, courtesy Evan Ramstad.
39. Adrenaline and gasoline: Ralph Noyce to Bob Noyce, 29 Oct. 1945, DSN.
40. Noyce’s academic work: various letters, especially Bob Noyce to Home, undated but probably spring 1946, DSN. You won’t know: Ralph Noyce to Bob Noyce, 29 Oct. 1945, DSN.
41. I’m just sorry I’ve got such brothers: Bob Noyce to Home, Wednesday night [no date, but probably 1947], ASB.
42. $5 in the bank, $4 in my pocket: Bob Noyce to Folks, 23 Sept. [1945], DSN. $19 to buy shoes, not war bond: Harriet Noyce, “I Remember,” 36. Check to the bank clerk: letter fragment, 16 July [1945], reprinted in D. Noyce, “Candles to Computers,” 230.
43. Noyce’s motivation for joining the diving team: Bob Noyce to Folks, 23 Sept. [1945]. Grinnell pool description: George Drake, interview by author, 15 Aug. 2002.
44. Envisioning myself at the next level: Ann Bowers, interview by author, 22 June 2002.
45. Noyce’s diving championship: “Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving Championships” (brochure) and accompanying newspaper articles, all ASB. Noyce’s concern that his parents might be disappointed: Noyce to Folks, 7 March [1949], courtesy Penny Noyce.
46. Description of the pig event and aftermath: letters exchanged between Ralph Noyce and Grinnell College administration; Grant Gale, “Remarks Made at the Dedication Dinner of the Robert N. Noyce Science Center,” 26 Sept. 1997, Gale Papers, GCA; and Ruth Greenwald, interview by author, 23 July 2002.
47. Abortion: mentioned in Rowland Cross, interview by Evan Ramstad, Feb. 1996, and confirmed by Penny Noyce, interview by author. Coincidence with the pig incident: based on Harriet Noyce’s comment, in “I Remember” that Bob said he stole the pig because “I was in a lousy mood. I had a fight with [the girlfriend]” and on the author’s knowledge of the rough dates during which the girlfriend and Bob dated.
48. Mayor’s motivation through intimidation: “If you do not understand the necessity of getting in the scrap, of searching every corner of your property—well, you certainly can’t read English.” Clippings from “Grinnell During WWII,” collection 37, GRSPL. Dean would expel: Grant Gale to George Drake, 6 June 1984, courtesy Evan Ramstad.
49. In the agricultural state of Iowa: Karl Dearborn (dean of Grinnell College Personnel Administration) to Ralph Noyce, 29 May 1948. A prize pig sold for $925 a month before Bob’s pig heist according to the Grinnell Herald-Register, 26 April 1948).
50. More concerned with hogs, have to be ready to accept youth’s offer of repentance: Ralph Noyce to Karl Dearborn, 2 June 1948, ASB.
51. Annuitant table quite outdated: Bob Noyce to Dad, July 1948, DSN. Loneliness: Bob Noyce to Dad, July 1948, DSN.
52. Congratulations high dive brain child: Western Union telegram from Mary Alice, 24 Feb. 1949, ASB. Equitable job offer: Noyce to Family Everywhere, 4 May 1949, courtesy Penny Noyce.
53. Struck like an atom bomb: “Living Legends” [video], ASB. I couldn’t grasp: Bob Noyce, interview by T. R. Reid, 31 March 1982, courtesy T. R. Reid (henceforth Noyce, 1982 Reid interview).
54. On the transistor and vacuum tubes: Transistorized! (web page, http://www.pbs.org/transistor/); Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire.
55. It was rather astonishing: Noyce, 1982 Reid interview. Phenomenally new: “Living Legends” [video], ASB.
56. They hooked up a microphone, in the tradition of Alexander Graham Bell: Reid, The Chip, 50.
57. Automatic transmissions, frozen foods coming on the market: James T. Patterson, Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945–1974 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996): 70. New York Times transistor story: Ernest Braun and Stuart Macdonald, Revolution in Miniature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982): cover image; Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire, 165.
58. A load off a soldier’s back, historians estimate: army press release quoted in Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire, 169.
59. Gale posting the clipping and his connections to the transistor: Grant Gale to Dave Jordan, 22 March 1984, courtesy Evan Ramstad.
60. Bell Labs monographs and Gale not receiving a transistor until after Noyce graduated: In Gale to Jordan, 22 March 1984, Gale mentions an “attached original shipping invoice [for the transistors, sent from Bardeen to Gale] dated March 6, 1950” (now lost). Monograph titles are from a list in the Grant Gale papers, GCA.
61. In electrical terms: thanks to Ross Bassett for his edits on this and the following paragraph.
62. Wriggled them just right: Reid, The Chip, 50.
63. A gross overstatement: Grant Gale, untitled recollections of Bob Noyce, n.d., Gale Papers, GCA.
64. MIT tuition scholarship: Philip M. Morse to Bob Noyce, 25 March 1949, MITP.
65. Best returns on the time spent studying: Bob Noyce to Family Everywhere, 4 May 1949.
Chapter 2: Rapid Robert
1. Noyce’s scholarship: Noyce’s graduate school record, MITP. Cost of a year at MIT: MIT Bulletin, June 1949, Catalogue Issue, 1949–1950. Construction site injury: Ralph Noyce to Mother, 9 Aug. 1949, ASB. Noyce shocked by country club extravagance: Bob Noyce to Folks, 7 March [1947], ASB.
2. Determination to secure a research fellowship: Bob Noyce to Dear Family, 20 April [1950].
3. MIT as a giant basement: Penny Noyce, interview by author.
4. Remote and austere: Bud Wheelon, interview by author, 8 Oct. 2002.
5. Incredibly difficult: John Bailey, interview by author, 10 Oct. 2002. Gale’s request for an update on Noyce’s progress is referenced in Nathaniel Frank to Grant Gale, 24 May 1950, Grant Gale Papers, GCA.
6. Asked girlfriend to stay away: Bob Noyce to family, 25 Oct. 1949.
7. Noyce’s deficiencies: Noyce graduate record, MITP. Everyone did badly: Noyce to family, 25 Oct. 1949.
8. Bud Wheelon background: Bud Wheelon, interview by author.
9. Life looks unpleasant: Bob Noyce to family, 25 Oct. 1949.
10. How misdirected I am: Bob Noyce to Folks, “Friday Evening,” [clearly early in his time at MIT], courtesy Penny Noyce.
11. 29 out of 100, Slaughter and Flunk: John Bailey, interview by author. Noyce’s course schedule: MITP.
12. John Slater’s lectures: David Jeffries, interview by author; Hugh Watson, interview by author.
13. Physical Electronics seminar: “Tenth Annual MIT Conference on Physical Electronics,” [purple mimeographed program, 1949], Wayne Nottingham papers, MC 241, Box 1, Folder 30, MIT; “Dr. Nottingham of MIT Feted by Colleagues,” Boston Herald, 27 March 1964, Wayne Nottingham Collection, MC 241, Box 1, Folder 3, MIT.
14. Nottingham’s course contents: “Notes for Course 8.21 on Physical Electronics,” [undated, probably 1949], “8.21 Notes, 1950,�
�� both in Wayne Nottingham Collection, MC 241, Box 1, Folder 21, MIT. By 1951, Nottingham was asking a few questions about semiconductors in his exams.
15. Path of least resistance: Noyce, 1982 Reid interview. You had to study: Noyce quoted in “Silicon Valley ‘Father’ Returns to Grinnell,” Times Republican [Marshalltown, IA], 3 June 1989, ASB.
16. Passed every course with honors: MIT official transcript, ASB.
17. Verbal shortcuts, dee x: Maurice Newstein, interview by author.
18. Wheelon-Slater conversation: Bud Wheelon, interview by author.
19. Teaching fellowship and staff award: Noyce’s graduate school record, MITP.
20. He thought he should have stood up: Maurice Newstein, interview by author. Nothing good ever came from being angry: Penny Noyce, interview by author. Pass himself off as an expert: Gaylord Noyce, interview by author.
21. Raining beer party: Jim Angell, interview by author, 6 June 2002; David Jeffries, interview by author.
22. Chorus Pro Musica: John Andres, interview by author; Henry Stroke, interview by author. Smooth as silk: John Andres, interview by author.
23. Physical specimen: Maurice Newstein, interview by author.
24. Friends a challenge: John Andres, interview with author; John Bailey, interview with author; Henry Stroke, interview with author.
25. Noyce’s building a telescope: George Clark to author, 11 Feb. 2003. Noyce’s automatic mirror grinder: Maurice Newstein, interview by author.
26. Noyce’s painting effort: Maurice Newstein, interview by author.
27. Noyce applying for Fulbright: Noyce to Family, 22 Oct. 1950. Noyce’s rejecting Fulbright: Harriet Noyce to Grant Gale, 20 Sept. 1951, Grant Gale Papers, GCA. Faculty recommendations glowed: “Noyce is one of our best graduate students, making a very fine record both as a student and on account of his general ability and character.” “Noyce has displayed superior intellectual qualifications, and in addition to being an outstanding student is a very stable and pleasing person.”
The Man Behind the Microchip Page 47