Title
Robert (Bob) Norman papersCatalog Number
102776847Type
DocumentDescription
The Robert (Bob) Norman papers, which date from 1963 to 2009, consist of the professional and personal papers of Bob Norman. Norman is known for designing the first Micrologic integrated circuits at Fairchild Semiconductor as well as co-founding General Micro-Electronics, Inc., which pioneered MOS integrated circuits.This collection traces Norman's early work on Micrologic and MOS integrated circuits, as well as his subsequent work at companies such as Nortec Electronics Corporation, Timex, Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, General Dynamics, and Singer Corporation. Types of materials in the collection include correspondence, memos, lab notebooks, newspaper and magazine clippings, financial statements, presentation materials and slides, internal business documents, project planning and implementation documents, board of directors meeting minutes, industry market forecasts, research files, and handwritten notes and figures. There is also material pertaining to the sale of General Micro-Electronics by Pyle-National Company to Philco Corp. in 1966.
Additionally, the papers include drafts for several handbook chapters as well as records from two court cases: Hughes Aircraft Company vs. General Instrument Corporation (1973) and AT&T Technologies Inc. vs Mintel Corporation (1989). There is a small amount of conference proceedings, manuals, data sheets, 32mm presentation slides, negatives, and photographic prints. The collection also includes files related to Norman’s personal life, including correspondence, hand-written reflections on his career, and a few files on his biography and family background.
Date
1963-2009; bulk 1963-1990Author
Norman, Robert H.Biographical Notes
Robert (Bob) H. Norman graduated from Oklahoma A&M University in 1954 with a B.S. in electronic engineering and math. In his undergraduate year he worked for the Sperry Gyroscope Advanced Weapon Systems Department on the application of transistors to computer design where he first conceived the idea of using transistors for memory storage. He joined Sperry full time in 1957. Fairchild co-founder Vic Grinich hired Norman to head up the device evaluation section in 1959 where he proposed and designed the DCTL circuit configuration for Micrologic the first planar IC family. He also developed and earned a patent on an early IC memory invention. Norman co-founded two pioneering MOS companies, General Microelectronics in 1963 and Nortec Electronics in 1968 and served as VP Engineering at American Microsystems Inc (AMI), Cupertino, California.Extent
4.75 linear feet in 4 record cartonsCategory
Collection RecordSubject
Fairchild Semiconductor; Integrated circuits; Micrologic; MOS integrated circuit; semiconductorsCollection Title
Robert (Bob) Norman papersPublications
The author contributed to the following conference papers during his service at Fairchild:Norman, R., Last, J. and Haas, I. Solid-state micrologic elements. 1960 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference: Digest of Technical Papers, vol. III
(1960): 82-83 (Reprinted as Fairchild TP-7).
Norman, R. Status report on micrologic elements. 51st Bumblebee Guidance Conference (1960-06) (Reprinted as Fairchild TP-10).
Norman, R. and Anderson, R. Testing of micrologic elements. Western Joint Computer Conference (1961-05) (Reprinted as Fairchild TP-18).