Biography, honors, memoriam
Over the years, Kilby spent time with U.S. presidents, other heads of states, and prominent leaders of business and academia, exchanging thoughts on the future of science and industry. But, over cups of coffee with colleagues and friends, his thoughts turned to more weighty issues, such as how to prevent silver from tarnishing and how the Post Office should adhere postage stamps to pre-stuck rolls. Kilby’s preference: upside down.
That down-home image is the one the 15,000 or so residents of Kilby’s hometown, Great Bend, Kansas, warmly embrace as they put their own touches on his memory.
A local fund drive is helping erect a life-sized bronze statue of him in the town’s plaza. Kilby’s outstretched hands will give a microchip to a young boy, and a young girl, at Kilby’s side, will point toward the stars. The sculpture, according to the Great Bend Tribune, “represents the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next.”
“He was an uncommon, common man,” local sculptor Chet Cale said.
Kilby’s biography
Engineering Hall of Fame
The National Medal of Technology and Innovation – United States Patent and Trademark Office
National Science Foundation – The President’s National Medal of Science
The Nobel Prize Internet Archive
National Inventor’s Hall of Fame
M.I.T. – Inventor of the Week Website
IEEE virtual museum Website
The New York Times Kilby Obituary
2007 Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Kilby biographic memoirs
CEO Tom Engibous eulogy, TI Jack Kilby Memorial Service
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