Speedier electrical circuits earns prof spot in hall of fame

An invention that made possible the fast electronic circuits now commonplace in computers and other electronic products has earned a UC Davis professor a spot in the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Robert Bower, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC Davis, was named along with seven other inventors at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Since 1973, when Thomas Edison became the first inductee to be so honored, the total number of U.S. inventors recognized by the Akron, Ohio, group has grown to 135. Bower's invention, one of 24 he has patented so far, is called the "Field-Effect Device with Insulated Gate," known as the "Self-Aligned Gate MOSFET." Patented in 1969, the device provided semiconductors with the speed they needed to serve in modern microelectronic applications. Bower developed it while working at the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, Calif. Inventors are selected for induction into the hall by a selection committee made up of representatives from about 40 national scientific and technical organizations.