Warren P. Waters Explained

Warren Palmer Waters
Birth Date:8 September 1922
Death Date:17 July 2000
Occupation:Researcher, Electrical engineer
Known For:Integrated circuit design
Notable Works:Transistor research
Solid state engineering
Spouse:Lois Virginia Lockwood
Children:Carolyn Waters Broe, Andrea Rosney, Elizabeth Waters Jennings

Warren Palmer Waters (8 September 1922 – 17 July 2000) was an American physicist, electrical engineer, and semiconductor pioneer. He filed several device and process patents in the field of solid state engineering and was the manager of the solid state research center for the Hughes Aircraft Company. Walter's innovative circuit designs led to the success of NASA's Surveyor program.

Education and military service

Waters was born in Sanger, California on 8 September 1922.[1] He graduated with honors from Sanger High School, winning the Bausch+Lomb Honorary Science Award for chemistry.

Waters joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and trained to be a pilot during World War II. He was later deployed to the 386th Infantry division in northern France. He lost a leg in combat on 12 April 1945, and received a Purple Heart[2] [3] and a Bronze Star for his service.

Waters graduated from Caltech in 1949.[4] He received his master's degree from the University of Southern California in 1954[5] and completed coursework there for a Ph.D. in physics.

Scientific career

Waters spent his summers between 1947 and 1951 working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, helping test new rocket designs.

Waters joined the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1952[6] and was involved in pioneering research on germanium[7] and silicon bipolar transistors.[8] [9] [10] [11] He filed five patents during this period.[12] [13]

In 1962, he joined Texas Instruments to manage its department for semiconductor research and advanced device development.[14]

In 1966, Waters returned to Hughes as the manager of its solid state research center in 1966,[15] working on microwave devices and designing integrated circuits using gold and silicon Schottky diodes.[16] His patent (with Belardi) is part of the Smithsonian Chip Collection.[17]

In his obituary, the Los Angeles Times reported that Waters' integrated circuit designs were used in NASA's Surveyor program, which landed some of the first unmanned spacecraft on the Moon.[18] The Atomic Heritage Foundation credits him with developing the components used in the landing mechanisms; later Waters helped invent the silicon wafer used in the electronics for telecommunication satellites.[19]

In 1980, Waters joined Rockwell International to work on silicon wafer doping. In 1987, he worked for Western Digital on silicon disk purification and the development of early computer hard disk drives.

Personal life and death

Waters married Lois Lockwood in 1951[20] in what the Covina Argus-Citizen called "an impressive ceremony";[21] the wedding was reported in several local newspapers.[22] He was the father of three children: Andrea Rosney, conductor Carolyn Waters Broe, and Lisa Waters.

Waters died on 17 July 2000 and is buried at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar, California.

Waters patents

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Warren P. Waters . 2020-08-14 . Atomic Heritage Foundation . en.
  2. Web site: National Purple Heart Hall of Honor . 2020-08-14 . www.thepurpleheart.com.
  3. Web site: Purple Heart Recipient . 24 June 2015 . The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor . thepurpleheart.com.
  4. News: Personals: 1949 . Engineering and Science . . pg. 24–26 . 24 June 2015.
  5. Waters. Warren P.. June 1954. Some Experimental Studies with AC Operated Positive Ion Space Charge Detector. University of Southern California Library, M.S. Thesis.
  6. News: 3 March 1966 . Hughes Tabs NB Research Center Chief . 157 . Independent Press-Telegram . . 23 June 2015.
  7. Sverre T. Eng . Warren P. Waters . 14 October 1959 . A Gold-Bonded Germanium Diode for Parametric Amplification . Proceedings of the National Electronics Conference . XV . 15, 83–91.
  8. Book: Waters . Warren P. . HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSISTOR STUDY . 1961 . WorldCat Idendities . 24 June 2015.
  9. R. A. Gudmundsen. A. L. Wannlund. W. P. Waters. W. V. Wright. December 1945. Recent Developments in Silicon Fusion Transistors. Tele-Tech & Electronic Industries. 76–78, 149–150.
  10. Arthur L. Wannlund. Warren P. Waters. 1957. A Silicon PNP Fused-Junction Transistor. IRE 1957 WESCON Convention Record Part 3 "Electron Devices". Hughes Semiconductors. 3–13.
  11. Warren P. Waters. H. G. Dill. C. H. Fa. Molecular Bandpass Amplifiers. AF Report. ASD-TDR-62-21.
  12. Warren P Waters . Jon H Myer . 24 Dec 1957 . Alkali metal alloy agents for autofluxing in junction forming . Hughes Aircraft Co . 24 June 2015.
  13. Warren P Waters . 8 April 1958 . Process for making fused junction semiconductor devices with alkali metalgallium alloy . Hughes Aircraft Co . 24 June 2015.
  14. Web site: March 6, 1966 . Waters back with Hughes . 2022-11-14 . Newspapers.com . Independent . Long Beach, California . en.
  15. News: 1966. Warren Waters: Man-of-the-hour. Hughes.
  16. Web site: Biography - Warren P. Waters . 24 June 2015 . warrenpwaters.org.
  17. Warren P. Waters . Richard J. Belardi . 25 May 1967 . Electrical Connection And/Or Mounting Arrays For Integrated Circuit Chips . 24 June 2015.
  18. Web site: The Los Angeles Times 22 Jul 2000, page Page 246 . 2022-11-14 . Newspapers.com . en.
  19. US3836991A. Semiconductor device having epitaxial region of predetermined thickness. 1974-09-17. Portnoy. Waters. Wisman. W.. W.. E..
  20. News: Puente Girl Is Married in Pasadena Church Ceremony. Pg 2. La Puente Valley Journal. 23 August 1951.
  21. News: 1951-08-24 . Impressive Ceremony Unites Lois Lockwood, Warren Waters . 5 . Covina Argus-Citizen . 2022-11-14.
  22. News: 30 August 1951 . Sunset Wedding In Pasadena United Lois Virginia Lockwood and Warren Palmer Waters . Sanger Herald.

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