Description
In 1940 the average American household had a phonograph, a radio and a telephone. Fast forward to 2021. We are awash with electronic technology – television, computers, cell phones, the Internet, the “cloud” and the list goes on. We will examine some of the technology breakthroughs that got us from there to here, including the transistor, the integrated circuit, cellular technology, fiber optics, lasers, charge coupled devices (CCDs) and liquid crystal displays (LCDs). We will look at both the people, the organizations and the history behind these developments.
Lawrence Anderson earned a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University and spent most of his career at what was then AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he was involved in some of the first experimental applications of lasers. He headed the group that designed optical components for the first fiber optic transatlantic cable. He lectured for many years on technical subjects for the Institute for LifeLong Learning for New Mexicans.
