Kenneth E. Manchester

Kenneth E. Manchester was drafted after high school to serve in World War II and later attended San Jose State University. Manchester then completed a Ph.D. in chemistry at Stanford University under the supervision of George S. Parks and worked as a postdoctoral fellow under Eric Hutchinson for three years. Manchester joined the surface chemistry group at Shell Development Company in 1955 and moved to Sprague Electric Company in 1962. At Sprague, he directed a research group that pioneered in the development of ion implantation, a key process in the manufacture of integrated circuits. Manchester later headed semiconductor research at Sprague before serving as director of quality assurance and reliability. He concludes the interview with thoughts on the need for chemists in semiconductor development.

Stanford University

1952 - 1955 Fellow in Chemistry

Shell Development Company

1955 - 1962 Surface Chemist

Sprague Electric Company

1962 - 1963 Section Head of Semiconductor Chemistry

Sprague Electric Company

1963 - 1969 Department Head of Semiconductor Chemistry

Sprague Electric Company

1969 - 1976 Director of Semiconductor Research and Development

Sprague Electric Company

1976 - 1979 Chief Scientist

Sprague Electric Company

1979 - 1985 Director of Semiconductor Quality Assurance and Reliability

Sprague Electric Company

1985 - 1989 Corporate Vice President, Research Development and Engineering

Allegro Microsystems, Incorporated

1989 - 1996 Consultant

Christophe Lécuyer

Christophe Lécuyer is a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and he received a Ph.D. in history from Stanford University. He was a fellow of the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology and has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the University of Virginia. Before becoming a senior research fellow at CHF, Lécuyer was the program manager of the electronic materials department. He has published widely on the history of electronics, engineering education, and medical and scientific instruments, and is the author of Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech, 1930–1970 (2005).