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LYNN FULLER: WHEN I FIRST CAME
TO RIT WE HAD NO TRANSISTORS,
THERE WEREN’T ANY.
I THINK I REMEMBER WHEN RIT GOT
ITS FIRST TRANSISTOR.
NOW WE HAVE CELL PHONES WITH
BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF
TRANSISTORS IN THEM AND THINGS
HAVE CHANGED JUST INCREDIBLY.
THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT WAS
CREATED IN THE 1960’S AND BY
1970 THERE WAS RAPID GROWTH WITH
THE CREATION OF THE
MICROPROCESSOR AND BY 1980 IT
WAS A FULL BLOWN MULTI HUNDRED
BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY AND THE
UNIVERSITIES HAD FALLEN BEHIND
IN CREATING THE ENGINEERS THAT
INDUSTRY NEEDED.
ROBERT PEARSON: I STARTED AT RIT
AS AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
STUDENT BEFORE THERE WAS A
MICROELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
PROGRAM.
DR. FULLER PUT TOGETHER SOME
EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING INTEGRATED
CIRCUITS AND HE SAID THAT A
FRIEND OF MINE AND I COULD COME
IN AND DO WHATEVER WE WANTED AS
LONG AS WE WROTE IT DOWN.
WE MADE THE FIRST SOLAR CELLS AT
RIT, THE FIRST PHOTO MASKS, THE
FIRST TRANSISTORS AND RESISTORS
AND IT WAS REALLY, REALLY
EXCITING AND LATER THE NOTES
THAT WE HAD DONE FOR THAT COURSE
WERE WHAT LAID THE GROUNDWORK
FOR THE MICROELECTRONIC
ENGINEERING PROGRAM.
FULLER: THE INDUSTRY NEEDED
THESE ENGINEERS AND THEY CAME TO
RIT BECAUSE RIT HAD IMAGING
SCIENCE BUT THEY WANTED AN
ENGINEER THAT UNDERSTOOD THE
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ASPECTS
OF MICROELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
AS WELL AND NO SUCH PROGRAM
EXISTED.
WE HAD TO CREATE AN ENTIRELY NEW
PROGRAM WITH MORE THAN A DOZEN
COURSES AND WE ALSO HAD TO
CREATE A LABORATORY THAT WAS
HUGE, WE HAD TO BUILD A NEW
BUILDING, RAISE MONEY, PUT IN 50
MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF
EQUIPMENT.
PEARSON: LYNN WAS THE PERSON
THAT WAS AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT
THE RIGHT TIME.
BUT MORE THAN THAT, HE WAS THE
RIGHT PERSON IN THE RIGHT PLACE
AT THE RIGHT TIME.
AS A FACULTY MEMBER AND ALSO AS
AN ALUM, I THINK HE KNEW A LOT
OF PEOPLE HERE, SO WHEN AN
OPPORTUNITY CAME TO START A
UNIQUE PROGRAM HE COULD SIT DOWN
AND TALK TO THE VARIOUS PLAYERS
THAT NEEDED TO COME TO THE TABLE
TO PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER.
FULLER: I THINK INNOVATION CAN
BOTH BE INSPIRATIONAL AND VERY
METHODICAL.
IN THE CASE OF SEMICONDUCTORS IN
MICROELECTRONIC ENGINEERING,
IT’S MORE OF THE METHODICAL SIDE
WE HAVE TO PUT TOGETHER A
BILLION THINGS THE SIZE OF AN
ATOM AND THEY ALL HAVE TO BE
RIGHT.
IF THERE’S ONE MISTAKE THE
CIRCUIT DOESN’T WORK.
IN OUR LABORATORIES WE ACTUALLY
MAKE SEMICONDUCTORS WITH
THOUSANDS OF TRANSISTORS.
OUR PROCESSES ARE VERY SIMILAR
TO WHAT THEY DO IN INDUSTRY.
THE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS WE MAKE
ARE PRETTY SOPHISTICATED AND
PRETTY AMAZING TO MAKE AT A
UNIVERSITY.
PEARSON: I THINK ONE OF THE MOST
INNOVATIVE THINGS THAT LYNN
BROUGHT TO THE PROGRAM WAS JUST
THE CONCEPT THAT YOU CAN TEACH
VERY HIGH LEVEL MATERIAL AND
CONCEPTS TO UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS.
WE HAVE A CLASS AND IT’S A LOT
OF HANDS ON, INTERPERSONAL WORK.
DISBURSED THROUGHOUT THE CLEAN
ROOM ARE ALL OF THESE TEAMS
WORKING ON DIFFERENT PIECES OF
EQUIPMENT AND HE THEN MOVES
BETWEEN THE GROUPS DISPENSING
WISDOM AND INFORMATION ON
WHETHER THEY’RE DOING THINGS
RIGHT OR WRONG AND THAT’S NOT A
NORMAL WAY TO TEACH A CLASS.
AND THESE ARE THE KINDS OF
THINGS THAT WHEN THESE STUDENTS
GET OUT AND GO TO WORK IN
INDUSTRY, IT’S THAT EXPERIENCE
THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
FULLER: THE OTHER DAY IN CLASS I
WAS TALKING TO MY STUDENTS ABOUT
HOW LONG I’D BEEN THERE.
I LIKE TO TELL THEM THAT I CAME
TO RIT BEFORE RIT WAS HERE.
THERE WERE NO BUILDINGS HERE
WHEN I CAME TO RIT; IT WAS JUST
A SWAMP OUT HERE.
AND THEN ONE OF THE STUDENTS
POPS UP HER HAND AND SAYS, “MY
DAD WAS YOUR STUDENT!” AND
THAT’S INTERESTING.
PEARSON: LYNN’S CAREER AT RIT
HAS SPANNED A TREMENDOUS LENGTH
OF TIME AND SO LYNN’S
PERSPECTIVE IS INVALUABLE.
HE CAN REMIND THE STUDENTS OF
WHERE WE’VE BEEN AND WHERE WE’RE
GOING.
FULLER: OUR PROGRAM WAS UNIQUE
AND I’VE SEEN OTHER SCHOOLS COPY
OUR PROGRAM OR AT LEAST TRY TO
DO SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT WE
DO AND THAT’S ALSO VERY
GRATIFYING.
AND TODAY I THINK WE MADE A REAL
IMPACT IN CHANGING THE WAY
EDUCATION IS DONE FOR ENGINEERS
THAT END UP WORKING IN THE
SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY AND I
BELIEVE THAT IT’S HELPED THE
INDUSTRY, NOT JUST RIT.