Robert Heath Dennard (September 5, 1932 – April 23, 2024) was an American

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and inventor.

Biography

Dennard was born in Terrell, Texas. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, in 1954 and 1956, respectively. He earned a Ph.D. from Carnegie Institute of Technology in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, in 1958. His professional career was spent as a researcher for

International Business Machines International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

. Single Transistor DRAM At the time of the invention, Dennard and his colleagues were fixated on a bulky, costly memory system that used a series of six transistors to store just 1 bit of data. In 1966 he invented the one transistor memory cell consisting of a transistor and a capacitor for which a patent was issued in 1968. It became the basis for today's

dynamic random-access memory Dynamics (from Greek language, Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power (disambiguation), power") or dynamic may refer to: Physics and engineering * Dynamics (mechanics), the study of forces and t ...

(DRAM) and almost all other memory types such as SRAM and FLASH memory. DRAM was instrumental in changing the world of computing through faster and higher capacity memory access. Today, DRAM is used pervasively across many devices from servers to personal computers to mobile devices. Dennard Scaling Dennard was also among the first to recognize the tremendous potential of downsizing

MOSFET upright=1.3, Two power MOSFETs in amperes">A in the ''on'' state, dissipating up to about 100 watt">W and controlling a load of over 2000 W. A matchstick is pictured for scale. In electronics, the metal–oxide–semiconductor field- ...

s. The scaling theory he and his colleagues formulated in 1974 postulated that MOSFETs continue to function as voltage-controlled switches while all key figures of merit such as layout density, operating speed, and energy efficiency improve – provided geometric dimensions, voltages, and doping concentrations are consistently scaled to maintain the same electric field. This property underlies the achievement of

Moore's Law Moore's law is the observation that the Transistor count, number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years. Moore's law is an observation and Forecasting, projection of a historical trend. Rather than a law of ...

and the evolution of microelectronics over the last few decades.As of 2024, the DRAM market is estimated to be over $100 billion. Awards and Recognition In 1984, Dennard was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

for pioneering work in FET technology, including invention of the one transistor dynamic RAM and contributions to scaling theory. Besides his technical accomplishments, Dennard was involved in other creative fields. Throughout his retirement, Dennard continued to fuel his creativity through choral singing and Scottish dancing. Dennard died on April 23, 2024, at the age of 91.

Awards and honors

* Robert N. Noyce Award (2019) *

Kyoto Prize The is Japan's highest private award for lifetime achievement in the arts and sciences. It is given not only to those that are top representatives of their own respective fields, but to "those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, ...

(2013) *

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

Honorary Doctor of Science and Technology (2010) *

IEEE Medal of Honor The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the American Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, and is presented to an individual or team of up to three who have made exceptional contri ...

(2009) * IEEE Edison Medal (2001) *Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering from The

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

(2007) *U.S.

(NAE)

Charles Stark Draper Prize The U.S. National Academy of Engineering annually awards the Draper Prize, which is given for the advancement of engineering and the education of the public about engineering. It is one of three prizes that constitute the "Nobel Prizes of Enginee ...

(2009) *elected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

(1997) *Southern Methodist University Honorary Doctor of Science (1997) *

Harvey Prize The Harvey Prize is an annual Israeli award for breakthroughs in science and technology, as well as contributions to peace in the Middle East granted by the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Technion in Haifa. The prize has become a ...

from Technion Institute in Haifa / Israel (1990) *

Industrial Research Institute Innovation Research Interchange (IRI) is a division of the National Association of Manufacturers, a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit association based in Washington, D. C., United States. IRI was founded as a private non-profit association in 1938 ...

(IRI) Achievement Award (1989) *U.S. National Medal of Technology (1988) *

Member (1984) *

IEEE Cledo Brunetti Award The IEEE Cledo Brunetti Award is an award is presented for outstanding contributions to nanotechnology and miniaturization in the electronics arts. It may be presented to an individual or a team of up to three. The award was established in 1975 b ...

(1982) * appointed

IBM Fellow An IBM Fellow is a position at IBM appointed by the CEO. Typically only four to nine (eleven in 2014) IBM Fellows are appointed each year, in May or June. Fellow is the highest honor a scientist, engineer, or programmer at IBM can achieve. Over ...

(1979)

References

External links

* . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Dennard, Robert H. 1932 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American inventors American electrical engineers Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering alumni People from Terrell, Texas National Medal of Technology recipients IEEE Edison Medal recipients Draper Prize winners IBM employees IBM Fellows Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering IEEE Medal of Honor recipients Members of the American Philosophical Society Kyoto laureates in Advanced Technology Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates

Biography

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links