SHORT BIO
Federico Faggin received the Laurea Degree in physics, summa cum laude, at the University of Padua (1965). At SGS Fairchild (Italy) he developed the first MOS process technology and integrated circuits. In 1968 he moved to Palo Alto (California) at Fairchild Semiconductor, where he created the MOS Silicon Gate technology with self-aligned gate and the world's first commercial integrated circuit. In 1970 he joined Intel where he developed the 4040 and 8080 microprocessors. Faggin left Intel at the end of 1974 to found Zilog. At Zilog, he conceived the Z80 microprocessor. He was Zilog's President and CEO until 1980. In 1982, he co-founded Cygnet Technologies, Inc., maker of the Cygnet CoSystem personal telecommunications device, and was President and CEO of the company until 1986. In 1986 he co-founded and was CEO of Synaptics a company which produces the most widely used touchpad in the industry. He then founded and was CEO of Foveon Inc., a company making image sensors with a novel technology. He received several prestigious awards including the Gold Medal for Science and Technology from the Italian Prime Minister (1988), the title of 'Grande Ufficiale' from the President of the Italian Republic (1988), the IEEE W. Wallace McDowell Award (1994), the Kyoto Price on Technology (1997) and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from the U.S. President (2010).
ABSTRACT
Born in Vicenza and educated in Vicenza and Padua, dott. Federico Faggin emigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1968, in the area that is now known as Silicon Valley. Faggin was one of the pioneers in the development of microelectronics during the period 1967-1980. He was also a successful high-tech entrepreneur in Silicon Valley from 1975 until his retirement from business in 2008. In his Lecture he will describe the inside story of the many developments he led, like the MOS silicon gate technology, the first microprocessor and the touchpad -- among others -- all set in the Silicon Valley environment of the time. He will conclude with an account of the major lessons learned during his career of 40+ years as a researcher, inventor and entrepreneur.