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OCR for page 131
ROBERT A. HENLE
1 924-1 989
BY ERICH BLOCH
ROBERT A. HENLE, a pioneer in semiconductor technol-
ogy and the director of the Advanced Silicon Technology
Laboratory in the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center,
died January 27, 1989. Mr. HenIe was an IBM fellow, an
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) fellow,
a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a
recipient of the IEEE Edison Medal in 1987 for his sus-
tained efforts in, and individual contributions to, the science
and technology of semiconductor circuits in computing
systems.
Born in Virginia, Minnesota, in 1924, Mr. HenIe served
as a Navy pilot from 1944 to 1946 and then returned to the
University of Minnesota, from which he received his B.S.
and M.S. in electrical engineering in lL949 and 1951, re-
spectively. He joined IBM soon after his graduation, and
remained there throughout a career that spanned more
than thirty-five years of remarkable productivity.
Bob HenIe began working on transistor circuits while
still a graduate student; his M.S. thesis investigated the op-
eration of a point contact transistor in a bistable circuit.
At IBM he joined a group studying the application of semi-
conductor devices to computers. This early work in solid
state circuits was applied first in various accounting machines
and then on a large scale in the IBM BUS, which was IBM s
131
OCR for page 132
132
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
first all-transistor computer. He then worked to develop
high-speed circuits for the Stretch Computer System and
the IBM 7090 series computers, which were at the leading
edge of computer designs in the late 1950s, and for the
Mode} 91 in 1962. This work was extraordinarily important
to IBM and the future direction of the entire computer
industry, for Bob Henie's work and personal determination
were the key factors in IBM's decision in the 1960s to con-
vert to solid state electronics for all computer systems. In
recognition of these contributions he war ~nnninter1 an
IBM fellow in 1964.
err ~
As an IBM fellow, HenIe concentrated on developing
monolithic memory technology, the first application of which
was in storage protect memory in the System 360/Models
91 and 95. The basic techniques he invented became the
foundation of all IBM semiconductor main memories and
influenced the entire semiconductor industry. He developed
the 128-bit chip that was user! in 1970 in the main memory
of the System 360/Model 145, and his memory technology
was the basis of the IBM System 370 family of machines.
HenIe became manager of Advanced Technology for IBM's
Components Laboratory in 1975, and was appointed direc-
tor of the Advanced Silicon Technology Laboratory in 1980.
In that position he directed an interdivisional laboratory
that has been responsible for many of the most important
of IBM's current technologies. In addition HenIe served
two terms on IBM's Corporate Technology Committee, a
body that oversees technology development for the entire
corporation.
Throughout his career Bob Henie had a remarkable ability
to combine scientific and engineering insights to create
new concepts and new products. He was one of the first to
see the limits of ferrite cores—the dominant memory tech-
nology of the 1950s and 1960s- and to understand the po-
tential of monolithic memory technology to increase the
capacity and speed of computer memories, thus making
possible entire new generations of computers.
OCR for page 133
ROBERT A. HENLE
133
He never stopped searching and learning, or trying new
ideas on old and unanswered problems, and this made him
a respected teacher as well as a distinguished researcher.
He remained a productive inventor to the end of his career,
with forty-eight patents and more than twenty-five papers
to his credit. His advice was sought after by the technical
community inside and outside of IBM, and he continued
to set an example for younger engineers.
Mr. HenIe was honored for his accomplishments in many
ways. He received the Department of Defense Citation for
"Exceptionally Meritorious Civilian Service" in 1974. He
was elected a fellow of the IEEE in 1966 and to the National
Academy of Engineering in 1982. In April of 1988 a symposium
in his honor was held at the IBM Thomas I. Watson Research
Center. At various times in his career he chaired a number
of committees of the IEEE, and he also served as an officer
in the Computer Society.
Robert Henie devoted his life to creating some of the
most important technologies of the modern world. His
accomplishments have affected all of us indirectly, while
those of us who were privileged to know him and to work
with him were affected in a direct and inspiring way. He
lived his life fully and productively, and in that he was an
inspiration to us all.
OCR for page 134
Representative terms from entire chapter:
solid state
