| Dr. James M. Early Lucent Technologies/Bell Labs Dr. James Early, an electrical engineering pioneer, gained international respect and recognition for his early research in transistors and semiconductors. During the 1950s, he made theoretical contributions such as discovering as aspect of the behavior of bipolar transistors, known as the "Early Effect". Transistor designers used the effect for faster transistor performance, which was crucial for applications like television, the FM transistor radio and early military radar. While working at Bell Labs, he created the oscillator transistor for the first United States satellite, led the development of solar cells and transistors for the Telstar I satellite, and participated in the original integrated circuit work at the laboratory. He holds 14 patents, mostly related to transistors and semiconductors. He remained at Bell Labs for 18 years before joining Fairchild Camera and Instrument in Palo Alto, California in 1969. He became director of the Fairchild Research Center and under his guidance, the company developed commercial charged coupled devices, which were used in early military reconnaissance satellites. Dr. Early earned his Bachelor of Science in pulp and paper manufacturing in 1943 for the New York State College of Forestry in Syracuse. After serving in the Army, he went on to graduate school at Ohio State where he received his PhD in 1951. After Dr. Early retired in 1986, he made audio recordings of technical books so that blind engineers could learn material, too. One of Dr. Early's eight children went on to earn a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering and found herself in the unusual position of listing to lectures about the "Early Effect". |
