- In full:
- Gordon E. Moore
- Born:
- January 3, 1929, San Francisco, California, U.S.
- Founder:
- Fairchild Semiconductor
- Intel
- Subjects Of Study:
- Moore’s law
Gordon Moore
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Who was Gordon Moore?
Gordon Moore (1929–2023) was an American engineer and, with Robert Noyce, cofounder of Intel Corporation in 1968. At Intel, Moore served as vice president (1968–75), president (1975–79), CEO (1975–87), and chairman of the board (1979–97).
Before Intel, Moore worked at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory and then at Fairchild Semiconductor, where he became director of research and development in 1959. Moore is also known for Moore's law, an axiom holding that microprocessor processing power doubles about every 18 months relative to cost or size.
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What is Gordon Moore best known for?
Gordon Moore is best known for Moore's law, which he formulated in 1965. Moore's law predicted that the number of transistors per silicon chip would double every year. In 1975, he revised the timeframe to doubling every two years. Over roughly 50 years, the number of transistors doubled approximately every 18 months.
In 1968, Moore co-founded Intel with Robert Noyce. At Intel, Moore held positions such as vice president, president, CEO, and chairman of the board.
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What is Moore's Law, and why is it important?
Gordon Moore, an American engineer, predicted in 1965 that the number of transistors per silicon chip would double every year, later revised to every two years. This observation became known as Moore's law. Over roughly 50 years, the number of transistors doubled approximately every 18 months.
Moore's law is important because it has driven the exponential growth of computing power and the reduction in the cost of transistors. The shrinking size of transistors has made possible the manufacturing of gigabyte memory chips and microprocessors that operate at gigahertz frequencies. Transistors are the most common human artifact on the planet and are deeply embedded in everything electronic.
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What role did Gordon Moore play in founding Intel?
Gordon Moore co-founded Intel in July 1968 with Robert Noyce, after leaving Fairchild Semiconductor. Moore, who had been the head of research and development at Fairchild, took on the role of vice president at Intel from 1968 to 1975, then president and CEO from 1975 to 1987, and finally chairman of the board from 1979 to 1997. His vision to merge research with practical production significantly contributed to Intel's early success, particularly with memory chips. Moore is also known for Moore's law, which predicted the doubling of transistors on microchips approximately every two years, influencing Intel's innovation and business strategy.
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How did Gordon Moore's work impact the development of computers?
Gordon Moore's work significantly influenced the development of computers through his observation known as Moore's law. In 1965, Moore predicted that the number of transistors on a silicon chip would double every year, later revising it to every two years. Over roughly 50 years, the number of transistors doubled approximately every 18 months.
This prediction drove the miniaturization of transistors, making circuits more complex and powerful while drastically reducing their cost. The proliferation of transistors has enabled the Information Age, embedding them in nearly every electronic device and transforming the world into a more connected global society.
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What is Gordon Moore's legacy in technology and science?
Gordon Moore is best known for "Moore's law," which he formulated in 1965. This law initially stated that the number of transistors per silicon chip doubles each year. Moore revised it in 1975 to doubling every two years. For roughly 40 years from 1961, the number of transistors doubled approximately every 18 months.
Beyond Moore's Law, Moore co-founded Intel in 1968, serving as vice president, president, CEO, and chairman. In 2000, he and his wife Betty established the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which supports initiatives in environmental conservation, science, and other areas.
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Gordon Moore (born January 3, 1929, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died March 24, 2023, Waimea, Hawaii) was an American engineer and cofounder, with Robert Noyce, of Intel Corporation.
Education
Moore studied chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley (B.S., 1950), and in 1954 he received a Ph.D. in chemistry and physics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena. After graduation, Moore joined the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland, where he examined the physical chemistry of solid rocket propellants used by the U.S. Navy in antiaircraft missiles. Moore soon decided that private industry offered more exciting research with greater potential rewards.
From Shockley to Intel
Moore was particularly excited about the potential of the transistor, a recent invention awaiting the development of practical manufacturing techniques. In 1956 Moore returned to California to work at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, which William Shockley, one of the Nobel Prize-winning inventors of the transistor, had just opened in Palo Alto. The new laboratory was researching manufacturing methods for silicon-based transistors, but after a hectic year-and-a-half under Shockley’s management—capped by an appeal by Moore and others that the company hire a professional manager—Moore and seven colleagues resigned and joined with Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation to form a new company, Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, in Santa Clara, California. In 1957 Fairchild was looking to enter the transistor business, and the “traitorous eight”—as Shockley labeled the defectors—presented themselves as a prepackaged solution. With Fairchild’s financing and investments from each of the founding members, the new company soon emerged as a major transistor manufacturer. Moore became director of the new company’s research and development in 1959, after cofounder Noyce (coinventor of the integrated circuit) was elevated from that post to general manager.
During his years at Fairchild, it became clear to Moore that, no matter how much science went into conceiving of silicon wafers, there would always be an artlike skill associated with their production. When Moore and Noyce left Fairchild in 1968 to establish Intel Corporation (also located in Santa Clara), they decided to merge theory and practice by forcing research scientists and engineers to work directly on the production of chips, especially the magnetic oxide semiconductor memory chips that became Intel’s first big commercial success.
Moore was vice president (1968–75), president (1975–79), chief executive officer (1975–87), and chairman of the board of directors (1979–97) of Intel. From 1993 to 2000 he served as chairman of the board of trustees of Caltech. Moore was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1990.
Moore’s law
In spite of the accomplishments listed above, Moore may be best known for a rather simple observation. In 1965, for a special issue of the journal Electronics, Moore was asked to predict developments over the next decade. In reviewing past increases in the number of transistors per silicon chip, Moore formulated what became known as Moore’s law: The number of transistors per silicon chip doubles each year. In 1975, as the rate of growth began to slow, Moore revised his time frame to two years. His revised law was a bit pessimistic; over roughly 40 years from 1961, the number of transistors doubled approximately every 18 months. Magazines regularly referred to Moore’s law as though it were inexorable—a technological law with the assurance of Newton’s laws of motion. Only time will tell if Moore’s law will be repealed.