Noyce

Noyce is a surname. The best known bearer is Robert Norton Noyce (December 12, 1927 – June 3, 1990), an American physicist and entrepreneur who co-invented the integrated circuit and helped launch the modern semiconductor industry. Noyce co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957, where he contributed to the development of the silicon planar process that enabled reliable manufacturing of integrated circuits. In 1968 he left Fairchild to co-found Intel Corporation with Gordon E. Moore, a company that became a leading producer of microprocessors and other integrated circuits. Noyce's work helped catalyze the growth of Silicon Valley and the broader electronics industry.

He was born in Burlington, Iowa, earned a B.S. in physics from Grinnell College in 1949, and a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953. His contributions to chip design and manufacturing earned him wide recognition, and he is regarded as one of the pivotal figures in the early semiconductor era.

The surname Noyce is most commonly encountered in English-speaking countries and is sometimes spelled Noyes as a variant. In addition to Robert Noyce, other individuals bearing the surname have appeared in various fields, but Robert Noyce remains the most prominent figure associated with the name in the context of semiconductor history.