When Bell Telephone Laboratories unveiled beam-lead technology 40 years ago, it revolutionized reliability in ultra-high-speed microelectronics with systems that seemingly operated forever without any device failures. The development team was led by Martin P. Lepselter who presented seminal work on beam-lead devices and integrated circuits at an Electron Devices Meeting in 1964. Lepselter, a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineers recalled, "we created beam-lead technology, also known as air-bridge technology, for unsurpassed reliability in high-frequency silicon switching transistors and ultra-high-speed integrated circuits for telecommunications and missile systems."

N. M. Ravindra, co-founder of the Microelectronics Research Center at NJIT, further explained the importance of Lepselter's discovery. "Beam-lead technology required inventing the whole new field of silicon micro-machining, which is now our indispensable workhorse in Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). They are used to make microstructures in silicon wafers that can include tiny movable parts. Beam-lead technology is central to microwave electronics, for example, and MEMS are used to make such diverse products as ink-jet print heads and projection high-definition televisions. Expertise in MEMS at NJIT was tapped a few years ago to prototype movable mirror devices for optical switches. Ravindra commented "we salute Martin Lepselter for the breadth of his pioneering achievements. We are indeed honored to recognize his association with NJIT on this occasion." Lepselter remains active in developing novel electronics and video display technologies through his Summit, N.J., think tank, BTL Fellows, and his role as distinguished physicist at NJIT.