The Origins of Silicon Valley: Roots in Ham Radio”
Speaker: Paul Wesling KM6LH, IEEE Life Fellow & Distinguished Lecturer; H-P (retired)
Date: Monday, September 23, 2019 (in Holmdel, NJ); Wednesday, September 25, 2019 (in Bethlehem, PA)
Time: Dinner at 6:00 PM; Presentation at 6:30 PM
Cost: none
SUMMARY: Silicon Valley is known to be unique, with its wealth of technology companies and different style of management. Why did Silicon Valley come into being? The story goes back to local Hams (amateur radio operators) trying to break RCA’s tube patents, Stanford “angel” investors, Fred Terman and Stanford University, local invention of the amplifier and oscillator circuits and of high-power tubes (gammatron, klystron), WW II and radar, William Shockley’s mother living in Palo Alto, and the SF Bay Area infrastructure that developed — these factors pretty much determined that the semiconductor and IC industries would be located in the Santa Clara Valley, and that the Valley would remain the world’s innovation center as new technologies emerged — computers, software, mobile, biotech, Big Data, VR, and now autonomous vehicles — and it would become the model for innovation worldwide.
Paul Wesling, an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer and an engineer, executive, SV resident, and educator, will give an exciting and colorful history of device technology development and innovation that began in Palo Alto, then spread across the Santa Clara Valley during and following World War II. You’ll meet some of the colorful characters – Leonard Fuller, Lee De Forest, Bill Eitel, Charles Litton, Fred Terman, David Packard, Bill Hewlett, Russ Varian and others — who came to define the worldwide electronics industries through their inventions and process development. You’ll understand some of the novel management approaches that have become the hallmarks of tech startups, and the kinds of engineers/developers who thrive in this work environment — and handle an original Audion tube, designed by Lee de Forest at his lab in Palo Alto. He’ll end by telling us about some current local organizations that keep alive the spirit of the Hams, the Homebrew Computer Club, and the other entrepreneurial groups where geeks gather to invent the future.
Bio: Paul Wesling received degrees in electrical engineering and materials science from Stanford University. He then worked locally at companies including Lenkurt Electric, Sperry-Univac, Datapoint Peripheral Products, and Amdahl, joining Tandem Computers in Cupertino in 1985. Paul retired from HP in 2001, then served as “Mr. IEEE” for the San Francisco Bay Area for 10 years. He is a Life Fellow of the IEEE.
As vice president of publications for the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society for 22 years, he supervised four archival journals and a newsletter. He received the IEEE’s Centennial Medal, the Board’s Distinguished Service award, the Society Contribution Award, and the IEEE’s Third Millennium Medal. An Eagle Scout, he served as scoutmaster of his local Boy Scout Troop for 15 years, was Advisor of a High-Adventure Crew, and enjoys backpacking, fly fishing, guitar and amateur radio (call sign: KM6LH).
“Excellent speaker!! Great grasp of materials and breadth of his knowledge.” Stanford Historical Society attendee
Two choices:
Monday, Sept 23 in Holmdel: info and register at https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/202543
Wednesday, Sept 25 in Bethlehem: info and register at https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/202565