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Leslie R. Avery David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton Electro-static discharge (ESD) has become increasingly a problem as more and more consumer appliances are built with integrated circuits. When television set manufacturers substituted transistors for tubes, consumers reported that children running across the rug and grabbing the channel dial could cause blown circuits from the ESD given off by the human body. Depending on the level of discharge, entire circuits were blown. Avery devised a very innovative and neat solution, designing the ESD protection into the IC circuit itself. The process involves embedding the ESD protection into the IC chip during the fabrication process and for diffusing the effect of voltage spikes, this protecting the circuit. The circuit design is now used in television sets manufacturing by RCA/Thomson and by Sharp. It is also used in chips manufactured by a leading IC supplier to major auto industry companies. Avery is recognized worldwide as a leading industry expert in Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) protection for integrated circuits and Electrical OverStress (EOS). He is recognized by the most respected members of the Sarnoff technical community as a preferred source of practical solutions to difficult IC design problems covering a range from power supplies to microwave. He has made Sarnoff a world-leading developer and supplier of ESD protection for integrated circuits. In 1985, Avery was the recipient of the prestigious David Sarnoff Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement for "world-leading achievements and technical leadership in the fields of electrostatic charge protection and novel integrated circuit designs." A Flemington resident, Avery earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Kingston Polytechnical Institute in Surrey England. He holds 21 U.S. patents and is the author of more than 40 technical papers.