Morgan Sparks
File:Bell telephone magazine (1922) (14753848794).jpg in 1953]]
Morgan Sparks (July 6, 1916 – May 3, 2008) was an American scientist and engineer who developed the microwatt bipolar junction transistor in 1951, which was a critical step in making transistors usable for every-day electronics.{{cite news |author= Melanie Dabovich (Associated Press)|title= Former Sandia labs director dies|url= http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_9170909|publisher= Las Cruces Sun-News|location=New Mexico|date= 2008-05-06|access-date=2008-05-07 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080510080412/http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_9170909 |archive-date = 2008-05-10}}{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/sparks/index.html |title=Morgan Sparks |access-date= 2008-05-06|publisher=PBS}} Sparks directed Sandia National Laboratories.{{Cite web|url=https://share-ng.sandia.gov/news/resources/releases/2008/sparks.html|title=Former Sandia Labs Director Morgan Sparks dies - May 6, 2008|website=share-ng.sandia.gov|access-date=2019-11-18}}
Early life and education
Sparks was born in Pagosa Springs, Colorado and earned his BA and MA degrees, both in chemistry, at Rice University. He then did his PhD work in physical chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana.
Career
Sparks went on to work at Bell Labs where John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley were developing the first transistor. Sparks stayed at Bell Labs and worked there to develop the microwatt bipolar junction transistor which helped make transistors practical enough for common use. Later, Sparks left Bell Labs to become the director of Sandia National Laboratories.
See also
References
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External links
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/us/08sparks.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin Obituary: NY Times]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081012163109/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3925722.ece Obituary: Times]
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Category:People from Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Category:Rice University alumni
Category:University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
Category:United States Department of Energy National Laboratories personnel
Category:20th-century American engineers
Category:Scientists at Bell Labs
Category:Sandia National Laboratories people
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