Crystal History [Past Forward]

In 1964, four years after earning a master’s degree in materials science from Stanford, Robert E. Lorenzini decided to go into business for himself. He bought motors, gear heads, and other spare parts an auction then built his own furnace growing single crystals of silicon, feed the burgeoning semiconductor industry. Inspired by quick-change efficiencies race-car pit crews, designed new so that workers could efficiently take it apart, harvest crystal, reload start next crystal. Downtime, he knew, meant lost profits. Customers silicon wafers included IBM, RCA, Texas Instruments.