Quotes by Jack Kilby

About Jack Kilby:

Jack St. Clair Kilby was an American electrical engineer who took part (along with Robert Noyce) in the realization of the first integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments (TI) in 1958. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics on December 10, 2000. To congratulate him, US President Bill Clinton wrote, "You can take pride in the knowledge that your work will help to improve lives for generations to come."
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

It's true that the original idea was mine, but what you see today is the work of probably tens of thousands of the world's best engineers, all concentrating on improving the product, reducing the cost, things of that sort.

Jack Kilby

I think I thought it would be important for electronics as we knew it then, but that was a much simpler business and electronics was mostly radio and television and the first computers.

Jack Kilby

Well, the thought that everybody might have a personal computer at their desk or their home was certainly not on the mainstream of anybody's activity at that time.

Jack Kilby

Well, the big products in electronics in the '50s were radio and television. The first big computers were just beginning to come in and represented the most logical market for us to work in.

Jack Kilby

I'm sure there will continue to be exciting new products and major changes, but it looks as if the existing technology has a great deal of room to grow and prosper.

Jack Kilby

The first calculators tended to sell for $400 or $500. Today, you can get a pretty good one for 4 or $5.

Jack Kilby

They're very strong in memory. Didn't do very much in microprocessors or digital signal processing.

Jack Kilby

Five years ago, people were crying and feeling the Japanese were about to take over the Earth. I don't hear that kind of talk anymore.

Jack Kilby

How are we doing in the electronics field as opposed to, you know, we hear how advanced the Japanese are? Do you think we're still pretty competitive? Oh, yes.

Jack Kilby

I think the varied backgrounds in the beginning were a plus. It took a while for people to understand what they were trying to do and get started, but it did provide for a lot of new ideas.

Jack Kilby

It's also somewhat in the center of a number of things that will be useful to the company.

Jack Kilby

They were the largest semiconductor maker in the world up until about 1980. I'm not sure that that can be re-gained again, but their progress in the last few years has been very impressive.

Jack Kilby

I feel my story has been exercised very thoroughly and very frequently.

Jack Kilby

My own interest developed because I thought it was a fascinating subject and something I wanted to pursue.

Jack Kilby

There was a space program before there was integrated circuits.

Jack Kilby

Today, people tend to credit me with having the original idea and made the first circuits.

Jack Kilby

The number of parts that were required were just prohibitive.

Jack Kilby

The groups that have awarded them are all a little different. It's a little hard to single out any one for that, but I think the dedication of this building would have to go toward the top of the list.

Jack Kilby

I think it's doing very well. I'm pleased to see the concentration on semiconductors. I think this will help.

Jack Kilby

It was really a very small company when I started and it changed very rapidly during those first periods.

Jack Kilby

Author Bio

  • NameJack Kilby
  • DescriptionAmerican electrical engineer
  • AliasesJack St. Clair Kilby
  • BornNovember 8, 1923
  • DiedJune 20, 2005
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionEngineer
  • AwardsIEEE Cledo Brunetti Award; National Medal Of Technology And Innovation; Nobel Prize In Physics; Stuart Ballantine Medal; Charles Stark Draper Prize; Harold Pender Award; IEEE David Sarnoff Award