James L. Buie
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James L. Buie (1920 – September 25, 1988) was an American scientist and inventor working for
TRW Inc TRW Inc., was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, automotive, and credit reporting.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-History.html TRW Inc. It was a pioneer ...
who developed
transistor–transistor logic Transistor–transistor logic (TTL) is a logic family built from bipolar junction transistors. Its name signifies that transistors perform both the logic function (the first "transistor") and the amplifying function (the second "transistor"), as opp ...
, a form of
integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
technology that became widely used early in the integrated circuit industry.


Biography


Early life

James L. Buie was born in 1920 in
Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...
. He went to the local public schools and graduated from
Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Histo ...
. He then attended the
Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...
and received an associate's degree. Buie served in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
as an
naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
and became a
lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
. He was awarded the United States Distinguished Flying Cross for action during May 26–31, 1944. Buie, an electrical engineering graduate of
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
who received a BSEE in 1950, took his first job at Pacific Semiconductors (PSI) in
Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
in 1951, where he worked on transistor circuitry as related to diodes and resistors. He was next employed by Ramo-Woolridge Corporation in 1954; Ramo-Woolridge joined with Thompson Automotive Group in 1958, and eventually in 1965 Thompson-Ramo-Woolridge became known as
TRW Inc. TRW Inc., was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, automotive, and credit reporting.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-History.html TRW Inc. It was a pionee ...


Career

Buie invented transistor-to-transistor logic circuitry ("TTL") in 1961 at TRW which played a major role in the development of the integrated circuit industry. TTL integrated circuits use transistors for the input gating structure instead of diodes, resistors, and capacitors as was used in the previous technology. His TTL semiconductor technology initially was used in mainframe computers. Buie's integrated circuit chips in the 1970s were the preferred technology for mini-computers, computer peripherals, factory controls, and test instrumentation. The microelectronic processor-based systems he invented were an industrial standard for two decades from the 1980s onwards. TRW licensed the new technology to other companies to use in data processing and communications electronics. Buie was a senior scientist and one of the organizers for TRW's Microelectronics Center that formed in 1963. The first commercial integrated circuit products using the TTL technology were made by Sylvania in 1963 and known as the Sylvania Universal High-Level Logic family. The TTL electronics Buie invented became the electronics industry standard from the mid-1960s, and the dominant architecture for integrated circuit technology in the 1970s and early 1980s. He helped establish TRW's
large scale integration An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
LSI Products Division in 1977.


Later life and death

Buie was elected a Fellow of the IEEE in 1973. He officially retired from TRW in 1978 as a full-time worker. He then began part-time work as a consultant for the Large Scale Integration division of the company (TRW/LSI Products). Buie then invented other related integrated circuits and patented those "chips", as they were called then. Buie's integrated circuit chip technology was used in various electronics of space satellites and computers into the 1990s. His TTL integrated circuit technology is a fundamental foundation of the electronics industry. Buie developed
emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...
caused by smoking in the 1970s and quit at the time of his retirement. His lungs continued to deteriorate at an accelerated rate that was faster that natural. He was on oxygen assistance from 1985 and continued to consult part-time for TRW. In March of 1988 he no longer could physically make the trip to his offices there and then just did some work on his personal computer at home communicating with TRW by phone. Buie continued to fail in health and died in
Panorama City Panorama City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. It has a generally young age range as well as the highest population density in the Valley. Ethnically, more than half of its population was born a ...
on September 25, 1988, aged 68. He is buried at
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in the city of San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Fort Rosecrans and is administered by the United States Department o ...
.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buie, James L. Engineers from California Fellow Members of the IEEE 1920 births 1988 deaths People from Hollywood, Los Angeles People from Panorama City, Los Angeles American scientists 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American inventors University of Southern California alumni American military personnel of World War II Burials at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery