Robert Noyce-The Man from Iowa and His Field of Influence

Points to Ponder: Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time. -- From A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Story Line: It was on this date (June 18) 31 years ago. I had just left my company campus in Fremont to go to Center of Performing Arts in San Jose to attend the memorial service for the man who had left this world after making major impact on mankind through his invention, entrepreneurship and statesmanship. My reason for going there was to pay my respect to the man who had left a lifelong memory and lesson in one short encounter I had with him in 1984. And I was not the only one. One Local Newspaper had seven full pages of tributes for this man by many people whose life he had touched. On the way, these stories started rolling through my mind. Here are a few told by some of these people.

There was a young man who had gotten a job at Fairchild Semiconductor to help pay for his schooling at San Jose State. During company sponsored ski trip to Tahoe, he and the fellow sitting next to him started chatting. This fellow showed a lot of interest in what this young man was doing as a technician and asked questions about his other interests. They chatted entire trip, had great time together and according to young man “He seemed interested in making me feel good about life in general and having a swell of a trip.” Only upon return he found out that this “nice guy” next to him was Bob Noyce, the inventor of integrated circuit and the founder of Fairchild Semiconductor.

During one industry event, a company CEO and his team ran into Bob. After CEO introduced his staff to Bob, he turned to one of his younger engineer who had just come to town to assist with equipment installation in Fab. “This is Dr. Noyce of Intel” The engineer shook Bob’s hand and asked “Which fab do you work at?” After the laughter subsided, Noyce humbly said, “All of them.” Little did the engineer know at that time that Bob Noyce was the founder of Intel and also cofounder of Sematech.

Then there was a story of Fairchild employees who were in LA for a conference. After a long day they were relaxing by the hotel pool and Bob Noyce came by. One of the salesman who was in jovial mood made a pretty good jackknife dive off the 3 meter board. As he emerged from the water he challenged Bob to top that. Bob climbed 3 meter board and made a perfect 2 ½ flip drive. Everyone was stunned. Several weeks later they found out that Bob was a college diving champion. Despite his many talents Bob never boasted about his accomplishments.

Bob used to sponsor little league baseball. Once while he was visiting his team, some kids offered him to bat. It was meant to be for fun. Once Bob got to the plate, his competitive spirit kicked in and when one kid pitched the ball, Bob hit it out of the ballpark. Then he ran through the bases and jumped with joy while landing on the home plate. Realizing there were no cheers going on, he looked at the kids and spectaors. Noticing their stunned faces, he realized what he had done and apologized.

There were many such stories filling the seven full pages of newspaper; people recounting how Bob loved to fly planes, how he motivated people to hang glide, scuba dive, and ski in scary places. He almost never missed company softball games. Then there were many memories of Wednesday meetings of the madrigal singing group he conducted, his encouragement to people to start new ventures, and his refusal to stop pursuing integrated circuits design venture when sales department strongly advised against it. I have treasured all seven pages and any story I have come across about Bob. But for now only one more….

Reflection: I had good fortune to meet Bob in March 1984, few weeks after I had joined Intel. I didn’t know much about Robert Noyce then that I know now. But just like the young man in the first story, he showed great interest in me by asking questions and made me feel good. His gentle smile, calm voice and humility are forever fresh in my mind. When I asked if he had any advice for a new person like me, he said “Young man (that was long time ago), if you want to be successful in this industry, be ready to change document before ink is dry.”

Studying the lives of people who have made an incredible impact on world, one thing stands out; there was no easy path. They encountered many hurdles and at each inflection point they had to reinvent themselves; learn new skills, try new approaches and continue their work with passion for excellence.

The life of Robert Noyce, the man who left the major mark on this world with the invention of commercially viable integrated circuits was no exception in this regard. Born in a poor family he worked in cornfields of Iowa after school, delivered newspapers and lived off hand-me-downs and produce from church members*. But his passion, perseverance and willingness to try new approaches resulted in the impact that continues to grow through the years.

In her tribute, his wife Ann Bowers summed it up beautifully “His ability to live fully was infectious and marvelous to live with. His most important legacy is the positive effect one can have by “going for it” in every way.

*the information contained in this sentence is from a wonderful tribute that was written by Michael Malone.

The various people’s memories are from newspaper tributes published in June 1990.

Comments

[Sharon Johnston]

Andy was the fire. Gordon was the heart. And Bob was the soul of the Intel triumvirate. After his Memorial service, I remember standing in the courtyard in front of RNB, and watching Bob’s jet do a flyover. He crammed so much into his years on this Earth - and encouraged everyone to do the same. He continues to inspire.

[PE]

Thanks for sharing Anand. I haven’t met Bob obviously, but stories about him are really inspiring.

[Larren Olson]

I too met Mr Noyce once, he left quite an impression on me.

[Lee Ann Moore]

Excellent post and tribute.

[HUMBLE WARRIOR]

LEGEND!

[PV]

Thanks for sharing this inspiring story of legendary leader Bob Noyce. He exemplified what visionary leadership is all about: a clear vision and passionate dedication to a future direction, an ability to articulate that vision, galvanize and rally the whole organization and modeling sound values rooted in integrity, courage and humility implementing it.

[Mina]

Wow! Thanks for your personal account of Tobert Noyce!

[madhuri]

Role Model example of "vidya vinayen shobhate"
Thank you for this reflection and tribute

[Fr Childhood Friend]

These kind of people build this country. Very inspiring.

[Cebuana]

Very inspiring and uplifting..thanks, Anand.

[Milan]

A truly inspiring life.

[Neighbor Carol]

We Americans and indeed the world have benefited from this home grown talented yet personable pioneer giant of the hi tech world. On a personal level, we are so grateful that his wife Ann Bowers started and/or supervised a memorial college scholarship fund in his name, of which our oldest daughter was one of the recipients. (She was graduating from Homestead High School, the same high school that Steve Jobs attended. 👩🏻‍🎓)
Thanks, Anand, for providing this platform that I can express my utmost gratitude and paying tribute to both Mr. & Mrs. Noyce. Their legacy continues!

[Destined Friends]

Beautiful person