Sheldon Roberts
Encyclopedia
C. Sheldon Roberts is a semiconductor pioneer, and member of the Traitorous Eight
who founded Silicon Valley
.
He earned a Bachelor's degree
in metallurgical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
in 1948, and a Master's degree
in 1949 and Ph.D.
in 1952, from MIT.
He then worked in research at the Naval Research Lab and the Dow Chemical Company
.
He joined the seminal Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory
division of Beckman Instruments in Mountain View, California, 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
) with Traitorous Eight
alumni Jean Hoerni
and Jay Last
.
Traitorous Eight
The Traitorous Eight, as they became known, are eight men who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory to form Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. More neutral terms include the "Fairchild Eight" and the "Shockley Eight." They have sometimes been called "Fairchildren," although this term has been also...
who founded Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
.
He earned a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in metallurgical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
in 1948, and a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1949 and Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1952, from MIT.
He then worked in research at the Naval Research Lab and the Dow Chemical Company
Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization .Dow...
.
He joined the seminal Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory
Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory
Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, the primary lab of the Shockley Transistor Company, was the first company to work on silicon semiconductor devices in what came to be known as Silicon Valley. It was purchased by Clevite in 1960, and officially closed shortly after being sold to ITT in 1968...
division of Beckman Instruments in Mountain View, California, but left the company along with other members of the Traitorous Eight
Traitorous Eight
The Traitorous Eight, as they became known, are eight men who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory to form Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. More neutral terms include the "Fairchild Eight" and the "Shockley Eight." They have sometimes been called "Fairchildren," although this term has been also...
with the backing of Sherman Fairchild
Sherman Fairchild
Sherman Mills Fairchild was an inventor and serial entrepreneur who founded over 70 companies namely Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Industries, Fairchild Aviation Corporation and Fairchild Camera and Instrument. Fairchild made significant contributions to the aviation industry and was inducted into...
to form the influential Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. is an American semiconductor company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1957, it was a pioneer in transistor and integrated circuit manufacturing...
corporation.
He later founded Amelco (known now as Teledyne
Teledyne
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an industrial conglomerate primarily based in the United States but with global operations. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky....
) with Traitorous Eight
Traitorous Eight
The Traitorous Eight, as they became known, are eight men who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory to form Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. More neutral terms include the "Fairchild Eight" and the "Shockley Eight." They have sometimes been called "Fairchildren," although this term has been also...
alumni Jean Hoerni
Jean Hoerni
Jean Amédée Hoerni was a silicon transistor pioneer and a member of the Traitorous Eight. He was remembered for developing the planar process....
and Jay Last
Jay Last
Jay T. Last is a silicon pioneer and a member of the so-called Traitorous Eight that founded Silicon Valley.He was born in 1929 in Butler, Pennsylvania. He earned his bachelor's degree in Optics at the University of Rochester in 1951 and his Ph.D...
.