T H E   W H I T E   H O U S E

National Medal Winner - Bob O. Evans

Help Site Map Text Only

"Specifically, in the early 1960s, Bell Labs' invention of the transistor began to be commercialized in radios, TVs, early computers and other electronic products. While the transistors [now more commonly called semiconductors] were much smaller than the vacuum tubes they replaced, they were relatively large, each unit perhaps the size of the eraser on a lead pencil. The transistors, together with resistors, capacitors and other electronic components were counted on printed circuit boards that formed the logic of computers and other electronic products that used transistors. Vacuum tubes were quickly outdated as the speeds, small power consumption, reliability and relatively small sizes of transistors and other components provided many gains.

"In 1961 IBM began work on a unifying architecture for its computer systems which became available to users in 1964 as Systems/360. This revolutionary design of compatible systems went on to astounding business success and changed the computer industry in many ways. Not so widely heralded was the revolutionary semiconductor circuitry that was produced for System/360. Thus IBM developed a microminiature hybrid technology named Solid Logic Technology [SLT] and this remarkable technology which required billions of dollars to develop and put into production, was the foundation of Systems/360. It brought huge gains in reliability, production automation and cost, size reduction and performance to the semiconductor industry at that time. Indeed, Erich Bloch, was one of the team of three from IBM who were awarded the medal of Technology and Erich's work was to put SLT into production, which he did.

"My suggestion is that an SLT module be one of the artifacts inserted in the Millennium Capsule...SLT would be suitable...as it was ingenious American technology that helped insure the U.S. was a world leader in computers of that era."