Robert W. Bower

Field-effect device with insulated gates—Also known as the Self-Aligned Gate MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transmitter). Patented in 1969, Bower's invention made possible the fast electronic circuits that are now commonplace in computer and other electronic products. He patented the device while working at the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California. Bower is currently a professor at the University of California at Davis, where he is focused on making three-dimensional microelectronics a reality. (1997)