Wikipedia

Gordon Moore

For other people named Gordon Moore, see Gordon Moore (disambiguation).

Gordon Earle Moore (January 3, 1929 – March 24, 2023) was an American businessman, engineer, and the co-founder and emeritus chairman of Intel Corporation. He proposed Moore's law which makes the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years.[4][5][6][7][8]

Gordon Moore
Moore in 1978
Born
Gordon Earle Moore

(1929-01-03)January 3, 1929
Pescadero, California, U.S.[3]
DiedMarch 24, 2023(2023-03-24) (aged 94)
Waimea, Hawaii, U.S.
Education
Known for
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisI. Infrared Studies of Nitrous Acid, The Chloramines and Nitrogen Dioxide
II. Observations Concerning the Photochemical Decomposition of Nitric Oxide (1954)
Signature
External videos
video icon "Rather than becoming something that chronicled the progress of the industry, it became something that drove it.", ASML's 'Our Stories', Gordon Moore about Moore's Law, ASML Holding
External videos
video icon "This powerful technology has allowed us to make more and more complex and high-performing circuits... They're the basis of everything electronic we have, unprecedented in human history.", Scientists You Must Know: Intel founder Gordon Moore, Science History Institute

Early life and education

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Gordon Moore was born in 1929 as the second son of Walter Harold Moore (a county sheriff stationed in San Mateo County) and Florence Almira "Mira" Williamson (a homemaker).[9] When Moore started school in 1935, the faculty noted his introverted personality.[10] His father accepted a promotion to deputy sheriff in 1938 and moved the family to Redwood City, California.[11] In 1940, Moore received a chemistry set as a Christmas gift, which inspired him to become a chemist.[12] From 1942 to 1946, Moore studied at Sequoia High School, where he was involved in athletic activities.[13] From 1946 to 1947, Moore attended San José State College (now San José State University), studying chemistry.[14] He transferred to University of California, Berkeley in 1948, taking courses from Glenn Seaborg, Melvin Calvin, and William Giauque. He graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry.[15][16]

In September 1950, Moore enrolled at the California Institute of Technology ("Caltech"), where he would ultimately receive a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1954.[17][16][18][19] Moore conducted postdoctoral research at the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University from 1953 to 1956.[16]

Scientific career

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Fairchild Semiconductor Laboratory

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Main article: Traitorous eight

Moore joined MIT and Caltech alumnus William Shockley at the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory division of Beckman Instruments, but left with the "traitorous eight," when Sherman Fairchild agreed to back them and created the influential Fairchild Semiconductor corporation.[20][21]

Moore's law

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Main article: Moore's law

In 1965, Moore was working as the director of research and development (R&D) at Fairchild Semiconductor. He was asked by Electronics Magazine to predict what he thought might happen in the semiconductor components industry over the next ten years. In an article published on April 19, 1965, Moore observed that the number of components (transistors, resistors, diodes, or capacitors)[22] in a dense integrated circuit had doubled approximately every year and speculated that it would continue to do so for at least the next ten years. In 1975, he revised the forecast rate to approximately every two years.[23] Carver Mead popularized the phrase "Moore's law". The prediction has become a target for miniaturization in the semiconductor industry and has had widespread impact in many areas of technological change.[4][21]

Intel Corporation

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Main article: Intel

In July 1968, Robert Noyce and Moore founded NM Electronics, which later became Intel Corporation.[24][25] Moore served as executive vice president until 1975 when he became president. In April 1979, Moore became chairman and chief executive officer, holding that position until April 1987, when he became chairman. He was named chairman emeritus in 1997.[26] Under Noyce, Moore, and later Andrew Grove, Intel pioneered new technologies for computer memory, integrated circuits, and microprocessor design.[25] On April 11, 2022, Intel renamed its main Oregon site, the Ronler Acres campus in Hillsboro, as 'Gordon Moore Park', and the building formerly known as RA4, as 'Moore Center', after Gordon Moore.[27]

Philanthropy

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As of February 2023, Moore's net worth was reported to be $7 billion.[28]

In 2000, Moore and his wife established the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, with a gift worth about $5 billion. Through the foundation, they initially targeted environmental conservation, science, and the San Francisco Bay Area.[29]

The foundation gives extensively in the area of environmental conservation, supporting major projects in the Andes–Amazon Basin, including Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Suriname, as well as the San Francisco Bay area.[30][31] Moore was a director of Conservation International for some years. In 2002, he and Conservation International senior vice president Claude Gascon received the Order of the Golden Ark from Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands for their outstanding contributions to nature conservation.[32]

Moore was a member of Caltech's board of trustees from 1983, chairing it from 1993 to 2000, and was a life trustee at the time of his death.[33][34][35] In 2001, Moore and his wife donated $600 million to Caltech, at the time the largest gift ever to an institution of higher education.[36] He said he wanted the gift to be used to keep Caltech at the forefront of research and technology.[29]

In December 2007, Moore and his wife donated $200 million to Caltech and the University of California for the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), expected to become the world's second largest optical telescope once it and the European Extremely Large Telescope are completed in the mid-2020s. The TMT will have a segmented mirror 30 meters across and be built on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. This mirror will be nearly three times the size of the current record holder, the Large Binocular Telescope.[37]

The Moores, as individuals and through their foundation, have also, in a series of gifts and grants beginning in the 1990s, given some $166 million to the University of California, Berkeley to fund initiatives ranging from materials science and physics to genomics and data science.[38][39][40]

In addition, through the foundation, his wife created the Betty Irene Moore Nursing Initiative, targeting nursing care in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Sacramento.[29][41] In 2007, the foundation pledged $100 million over 11 years to establish a nursing school at the University of California, Davis.[38] The Moores have also been long-time benefactors of other Northern California institutions, including Stanford University (over $190 million as of 2022), University of California, San Francisco, and University of California, Santa Cruz.[38]

In 2009, the Moores received the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.[29][42]

Scientific awards and honors

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Moore received many honors. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1976 for contributions to semiconductor devices from transistors to microprocessors.[43]

In 1990, Moore was with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President George H. W. Bush, "for his seminal leadership in bringing American industry the two major postwar innovations in microelectronics – large-scale integrated memory and the microprocessor – that have fueled the information revolution".[44]

In 1998, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Computer History Museum "for his fundamental early work in the design and production of semiconductor devices as co-founder of Fairchild and Intel".[45]

In 2001, Moore received the Othmer Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to progress in chemistry and science.[46][47] Moore was also the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, as of 2002.[48] He received the award from President George W. Bush.[49] In 2002, Moore received the Bower Award for Business Leadership.[50]

In 2003 Moore was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2005.[51]

Moore was awarded the 2008 IEEE Medal of Honor for "pioneering technical roles in integrated-circuit processing, and leadership in the development of MOS memory, the microprocessor computer, and the semiconductor industry".[52] Moore was featured in the 2011 documentary film Something Ventured, in which he said about Intel's first business plan, "It was one page, double spaced. It had a lot of typos in it."[53]

In 2009, Moore was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He was awarded the 2010 Dan David Prize for his work in the areas of Computers and Telecommunications.[54]

The library at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge is named after him and his wife Betty,[55] as are the Moore Laboratories building (dedicated 1996) at Caltech and the Gordon and Betty Moore Materials Research Building at Stanford. The Electrochemical Society presents an award in Moore's name, the Gordon E. Moore Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Solid State Science and Technology, biennially to celebrate scientists' contributions to the field of solid-state science.[56] The Society of Chemical Industry (American Section) annually presents the Gordon E. Moore Medal, to recognize early career success in innovation in the chemical industries.[57][58]

Moore was awarded the UCSF medal in 2016.[59]

Personal life

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Moore on a fishing trip in 2004

Moore met his wife, Betty Irene Whitaker, in 1947 during a student government conference at the Asilomar Conference Grounds.[60] They married in 1950,[61] and Moore became a father to two sons: Kenneth Moore (b. 1954) and Steven Moore (b. 1959).[62]

Moore was an avid fisherman since childhood, and he traveled extensively with his wife, sons, or fellow colleagues to catch species such as bass, marlin, salmon, and trout.[63] He said his conservation efforts were partly inspired by his interest in fishing and his time spent outdoors.[64]

In 2011, Moore's was the first human genome sequenced on Ion Torrent's Personal Genome Machine platform, a massively parallel sequencing device, which uses ISFET biosensors.[65]

Moore died at his home in Hawaii on March 24, 2023, at age 94.[66] He was remembered by the San Francisco Chronicle as a "Silicon Valley icon who co-founded Intel."[67] The current Intel CEO at the time, Pat Gelsinger remembered him as someone who, "defined the technology industry through his insight and vision."[68]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ "Gordon Moore 1998 Fellow". Computer History Museum. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  2. ^ "SCI Perkin Medal". Science History Institute. May 31, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  3. ^ Thackray 2015, p. xvi.
  4. ^ a b Moore, Gordon (April 19, 1965). "Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits". Electronics Magazine. 38 (8): 114–117.
  5. ^ Moore, Gordon (January 1998). "Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits (Reprint)" (PDF). Proceedings of the IEEE. 86 (1): 82–85. doi:10.1109/jproc.1998.658762. S2CID 6519532. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  6. ^ Gordon E. Moore at DBLP Bibliography Server  
  7. ^ Gordon Moore author profile page at the ACM Digital Library
  8. ^ Moore, G. E. (1997). "The microprocessor: Engine of the technology revolution". Communications of the ACM. 40 (2): 112–114. doi:10.1145/253671.253746. S2CID 74187.
  9. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 15, 21–23.
  10. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 29–30.
  11. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 33, 40–41, 52.
  12. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 44–45.
  13. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 46–48, 51.
  14. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 60–61.
  15. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 71, 79–80, 85.
  16. ^ a b c Brock, David C.; Lécuyer, Christophe (January 20, 2006). Gordon E. Moore and Jay T. Last, Transcript of an Interview Conducted by David C. Brock and Christophe Lécuyer at Woodside, California on 20 January 2006. Chemical Heritage Foundation.
  17. ^ Moore, Gordon Earle (1954). I. Infrared Studies of Nitrous Acid, The Chloramines and Nitrogen Dioxide II. Observations Concerning the Photochemical Decomposition of Nitric Oxide (PhD thesis). California Institute of Technology. ProQuest 302028299.
  18. ^ "California Institute of Technology Sixtieth Annual Commencement Exercises (Program)" (PDF). Caltech Camps Publications. June 11, 1954. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  19. ^ Dodson, Vannessa. "Gordon and Betty Moore: Seeding the Path Ahead". Campaign Update (Fall 2003). Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  20. ^ Moore, Gordon E. (Summer 1994). "The Accidental Entrepreneur" (PDF). Engineering & Science. pp. 23–30. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  21. ^ a b Brock, David C., ed. (2006). Understanding Moore's law : four decades of innovation. Chemical Heritage Press. ISBN 9780941901413.
  22. ^ Gordon E. Moore (1995). "Lithography and the future of Moore's law" (PDF). SPIE. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  23. ^ Tuomi, I. (2002). "The Lives and Death of Moore's Law". First Monday. 7 (11). doi:10.5210/fm.v7i11.1000.
  24. ^ "Intel Corporation". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  25. ^ a b Yeh, Raymond T.; Yeh, Stephanie H. (2004). The art of business : in the footsteps of giants. Zero Time Pub. ISBN 9780975427712.
  26. ^ "2004 History Maker – Gordon Moore". History Makers. San Mateo County History Museum. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  27. ^ Rogoway, Mike (April 11, 2022). "Intel renames main Oregon site for founder Gordon Moore, opens $3 billion Hillsboro expansion". Oregon Live. The Oregonian. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  28. ^ "Gordon Moore". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  29. ^ a b c d "2009 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Awarded to Michael R. Bloomberg, The Koç Family, Gordon & Betty Moore and Sanford & Joan Weill". Carnegie Corporation of New York. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  30. ^ Butler, Rhett A. (December 12, 2006). "Who pays for Amazon rainforest conservation?". Mongabay. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  31. ^ "Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: Grants for Conservation". Inside Philanthropy. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  32. ^ "Intel's Gordon Moore and CI's Claude Gascon To Receive Major Award". Conservation International. April 19, 2002. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  33. ^ "Sally Ride, David Lee Named Caltech Trustees, Ben Rosen Named Trustee Chair". California Institute of Technology. December 4, 2000. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  34. ^ "Technology Pioneer Gordon Moore is Caltech Commencement Speaker". California Institute of Technology. May 3, 2001. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  35. ^ "Trustee List". California Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  36. ^ "Intel Founder Gives $600 Million to Caltech". The New York Times. October 28, 2001. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  37. ^ Tytell, David (August 22, 2007). "Thirty Meter Telescope Moves Forward". Sky & Telescope. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  38. ^ a b c "Grants Search". moore.org. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  39. ^ "Berkeley Gets Millions From Intel Head". sfgate.com. January 20, 1996. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  40. ^ "Annual Report on University Private Support" (PDF). University of California. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  41. ^ "Betty Irene Moore Nursing Initiative". Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  42. ^ "Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Funds Programs to Address Nursing Crisis". UCSF Campaign Insider. University of California San Francisco. 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  43. ^ "National Academy of Engineering Members". Caltech. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  44. ^ "The National Medal of Technology and Innovation 1990 Laureates". USPTO.gov. The United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  45. ^ CHM. "Gordon Moore — CHM Fellow Award Winner". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015."Gordon Moore | Computer History Museum". Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  46. ^ Voith, Melody; Reisch, Marc (May 14, 2001). "Gordon Moore Awarded the Othmer Gold Medal". Chemical & Engineering News. 79 (20): 62. doi:10.1021/cen-v079n020.p062.
  47. ^ "Othmer Gold Medal". Science History Institute. May 31, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  48. ^ "SIA Congratulates Intel's Gordon Moore for Receiving Presidential Medal of Freedom". SIA News. Semiconductor Industry Association. June 24, 2002. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  49. ^ "Intel co-founder, philanthropist Gordon Moore dies at 94". Boston Globe. March 25, 2023. ProQuest 2790280849. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  50. ^ Bogaert, Pauline Pinard (April 30, 2002). "Franklin Institute honors eight for their science achievements". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C2. ProQuest 1892022062. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  51. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  52. ^ "IEEE – IEEE Medals, Technical Field Awards, and Recognitions – IEEE Medal of Honor Recipients". IEEE. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  53. ^ Cassidy, Mike (October 9, 2011). "Cassidy: Palo Alto International Film Festival brings Silicon Valley into focus". Oakland Tribune. ProQuest 896801197. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  54. ^ "Gordon E. Moore". Dan David Prize. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  55. ^ "The Betty & Gordon Moore Library". University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on January 23, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  56. ^ "ECS Society Awards". The Electrochemical Society. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  57. ^ "Gordon E. Moore Medal". Society of Chemical Industry (SCI America). Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  58. ^ "SCI Gordon E. Moore Medal". Science History Institute. May 31, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  59. ^ "UCSF Medal". Office of the Chancellor. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  60. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 61–62.
  61. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 86–87.
  62. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 122, 123, 208–209.
  63. ^ Thackray 2015, pp. 27, 70, 240–242, 485 passim.
  64. ^ "Gordon Moore - Charlie Rose". charlierose.com. November 14, 2005. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  65. ^ Rothberg, J. M.; Hinz, W.; Rearick, T. M.; Schultz, J.; Mileski, W.; Davey, M.; Leamon, J. H.; Johnson, K.; Milgrew, M. J.; Edwards, M.; Hoon, J.; Simons, J. F.; Marran, D.; Myers, J. W.; Davidson, J. F.; Branting, A.; Nobile, J. R.; Puc, B. P.; Light, D.; Clark, T. A.; Huber, M.; Branciforte, J. T.; Stoner, I. B.; Cawley, S. E.; Lyons, M.; Fu, Y.; Homer, N.; Sedova, M.; Miao, X.; Reed, B. (2011). "An integrated semiconductor device enabling non-optical genome sequencing". Nature. 475 (7356): 348–352. doi:10.1038/nature10242. PMID 21776081.
  66. ^ "Gordon Moore, Intel Co-Founder, Dies at 94". Business Wire. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  67. ^ "Gordon Moore, Intel co-founder, dies". May 23, 2023. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  68. ^ "Gordon Moore, Intel co-founder, dies". May 23, 2023. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2024.

Sources

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  • Thackray, Arnold (2015). Moore's Law : The Life of Gordon Moore, Silicon Valley's Quiet Revolutionary. Basic Books. ISBN 9780465055623.
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Preceded by CEO, Intel
1975–1987 		Succeeded by
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